Prepare to attack. Aggressively.
-----======================-----
. . -- . .-. - . .
.------.---._ -. . . . . . ._.-''._--
.--- \'.'. .' ' '/ ' ' /.
\ ___ |.' './ /''
.' / . - -. .' ' / / ' '
.' . '.__.' .' / /| '
. ./ .' ______ .--. --- ----- -------. .--. .'/ / | |
| ( / ____ \ | . . | | ---. | '-----. ) | . \ '/ / | |___
.\ \ ||____|| | |\ '| | | | | ____ \ | -- \ / /--' ___/
' \ .\ \______/ |_| \__.' |_| |_| |_| |_| \_\ _.. /
..( \_ '/ .'.''| /
-__ ''-._ _ | |
'-__ ''-.'..'''.''. | |
--.-._--''. . |/
|
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:..:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.
Contra 4 - Nintendo DS
Version 1.1 (20/01/2007)
Version History:
1.1: A lot of new user submissions (mostly bosses). (20/01/2007)
1.0: All appendecies complete, and all challenges complete. The guide is now
finsihed. (12/12/2007)
0.9: Arcade mode complete, challenge mode pretty robust and the first user
submission. (10/12/2007)
0.3: First three stages, and the skeleton of the guide - (06/12/2007)
.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:..:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.
Legality:
This Guide is Copyright, 2007, Matthew McIntyre
This guide may not be used on a website or in any public forum
where it is protected by copyright without the consent of the author.
To contact me: entropiclobo(at)yahoo(dot)ca or chaos(dot)wolf(at)gmail(dot)com
-I'm very open to feedback as long as you're decent.
Websites with permission to use this Guide:
www.GameFAQS.com
www.neoseeker.com
faqs.IGN.com
www.1up.com
www.honestgamer.com
www.gamesradar.com
www.cheatplanet.com
http://www.cheathappens.com
Game by Wayforward/Konami
******************************************************************************
* Table of Contents *
******************************************************************************
*To jump to a section, hold the Control Key and press F, then type in the
section number as it appears (ie type CF1)
CF1: Intro
CF2: Gameplay
CF3: Items
CF4: Arcade Mode
CF4.1: Stage 1: Jungle
CF4.2: Stage 2: Laboratory
CF4.3: Stage 3: Base
CF4.4: Stage 4: Harbor
CF4.5: Stage 5: Ocean
CF4.6: Stage 6: Factory
CF4.7: Stage 7: City
CF4.8: Stage 8: Alien Hive
CF4.9: Stage 9: Harvest Yard
CF5: Challenge Mode
CF6: Bosses
CF7: Enemies
CF8: Extras and Secrets
CF9: Credits
Contra 4 is rated "B" for "Badass," and is only one of the few instances I will
use that word. It contains scenes of rippling muscles and dirty alien scum.
Player discretion is advised.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| CF1: Intro |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"So, they sent in four lethal badasses to do what they do best."
Contra's the kind of series that isn't shy about what it is - balls to the
walls action with a steep difficulty curve. It knows who its fans are and what
its audience is. It's diverged more than once, but it's invariably returned to
the fold. Now, I love when developers have the stones to change how a game
plays. But when it's undeniably Contra? I can live with a more classic
throwback for this series especially when it's turned 20.
Where are the stones here then? Releasing a game like this on a console that
thrives on non-game shovelware is not necessarily a ballsy move but to keep it
true to the series and even be tongue and cheek in regards to its own
difficulty shows that Wayforward knew who the audience for this series was and
weren't going to dick around to make it more "accessible."
That said, COntra 4 _is_ COntra and that means while things seem out of hand
or even intimidating at first they become much clearer and easier the more you
play. This is what I love about this series - it's difficult without being
unfair. If you die, it's more than likely your fault - so you really can
master it and you really do feel like you've acheived your victory.
And that's all there is to it folks, you can put this one down if you keep at
it. And it's the kind of game that just brings you back for more, frothing
all the wgile. I'm going to be giving tips and strategies on getting through
this game, but there's really a lot on your shoulders already. It always
seems like I sell the guides short whenever I do a shooter because I always
say that your practice and ability are called into question. But that's just
it, they are. And if you just keep at this isn't going to be an issue.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| CF2: Gameplay |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
CF2.1: Basics
CF2.2: Advanced tactics
CF2.3: Modes
***CF2.1: Basics***
Contra 4 takes place over a number of side-scrolling levels. You have one hit
point under most circumstances. It is a run n' gun so the screen will often
be filled with bullets or enemies, or both. It's your task to cream these foes
before they get a chance to attack or dodge and weave around the bullets.
Bravery is often rewarded, but at the same time if you take things slowly it
can pay off as well. Perhaps only scrolling a single major threat onscreen at
a time and then walloping it before you continue could pay off?
Action takes place over both screens so try to watch both at once. THis is
very disorienting at first but a worthwhile exercise.
Start: Pause
A: Discard Weapon
B: Jump
X: Grapple Hook
Y: Shoot
Your grapple hook allows you to grapple up to certain structures, usally on
the top screen and usually rails that your character can grab onto. This hook
travels all the way to the top of the top screen.
Discard throws your power-up out. It doesn't totally get rid of it, just
tosses it forward in case you do it by accident - and you probably will more
than once when you just start out.
Your standard gun is fairly weak though most enemies will fall to it in just
a few shots. You will want to upgrade it, however. The biggest advantage in
Contra's main levels is being able to strike multiple enemies at once, be this
through explosions, able to pass through multiple enemies, or covering a wide
area.
L: Switch Weapon
You can keep two weapons at once, your active weapon and your reserve.
Pressing L switches the weapons. Your reserve is kept even if you die, but
not if you continue - extremely useful to keep a crowd control weapon or boss
slayer weapon.
R: Stand Still
This lets you... stand still. What's that? Not useful? Actually, it's very
useful. Contra often had you jumping in place to aim straight down... no more.
You can hold R, aim down and take those suckers out. Very useful.
Left/Right: Moves your character
Up, Up and Left, Up and Right, left and down, right and down: Move while
aiming the direction you are pressing.
Down: Lay on the ground. You can fire while you lay down.
Third-Person Bases:
Controls are a little different in here. You can lay down, jump and move back
and forth. Enemies are in the background and you fight your way through a
number of rooms to the boss.
The weapons have pretty much the same function in here. When you clear a room
press UP to proceed to the next room.
***CF2.2: Advanced Tactics***
*Air Pause:
---------
This one may save your life if you know to use it, though you won't be using
it too often. Pressing the X button fires your grapple hook but also makes you
pause for a brief second and so you are either a good target or you pause
above a potential threat letting it pass by.
This is -not- something you are going to be using a whole lot, but when you
do get some success with it you'll be glad you thought of it.
*Hot Swapping:
------------
It's a basic, really, but your reserve weapon is kept even if you die - only
continues will make it disappear. You want to switch to the reserve for when
you are firing at some enemy and you need to down him fast. When on the move,
switch back to your other weapon or when you are about to be hit. If you're
dodging a boss, you may want to only switch to your anti-boss weapon when you
get the opportunity.
*Rail Dodge:
----------
Not one to be taken lightly, a daredevil move. To dodge a shot while hanging
and jumping is not an issue, press down and B to drop down off the rail then
grapple back up there before you die.
*Regarding Tossing Upgrades:
--------------------------
The A button is useful for when you get two weapons of the same variety only
one is your core weapon and one is your reserve. Now, this may be fine
depending on whether or not you want to USE this weapon yet keep one in
reserve as well. But if you toss the weapon, you can switch and get your
upgrade.
*Lay Down:
--------
As Andy pointed out to me, and I regret I didn't think to try it from the first
Contra is that you can lay down in the bases. Very useful to dodge bullets.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| CF3: Items |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Items are the cornerstone to your victory at times. They make life a lot
easier and aliens scream for mercy.
What weapon you like is totally up to you. Some are very useful all the time
while others have more periodic use. Make use of your ability to hold both
at once.
*Barrier:
-------
the barrier protects you from shots for a short time. Take the opportunity
to tear it up and defeat either difficultly placed enemies or make progress
ont he level. They are often places in such a way that you can make
immediate
*Crush:
-----
Powerful missiles that lack range, they are a decent anti-boss weapon. When
you upgrade the Crush, it gets a longer range. this benefits it more than
you would think. Being able to launch these suckers across the screen means
those alien bastards will running for the hills.
You'll want to tap the button to get the most out of crush.
*Flame:
-----
The Flame gun is a decently powerful weapon that is terrific as an upgraded
gun but not so much when you get one without the upgrades. It's initial
mode is one that fires swirling balls of fire forward. These pack a decent
punch but lack speed and penetrating ability. When you upgrade it, it
launches a fireball that explodes on contact, the explosion is able to hurt
enemies.
It's a pretty great payoff, really, and definitely something to consider. You
will want to tap the button to get the highest rate of fire out of Flame.
*Homing:
------
These missiles aren't the most powerful thing on the block but they track
enemies. It goes in arcs toward the enemy, and due to its turning axis it
can fly around an enemy rather than into it. The homing is great on a fair
few bosses, however, and it's worth keeping a fully upgraded homing on hand
for that reason.
Upgraded Homing missiles fire three at once. This is much more useful.
However, remember that running with Homing won't guarantee that anything in
front of you will be toasted, so I'd say use homing with discretion.
You will still want to aim your shots and you will want to tap the button
to get the most out of this.
*Laser:
-----
The laser's best feature is its ability to pierce an enemy and go on to the
next. It's also fairly strong so you'll be able to pull off a few shots in
short order. The laser gets thicker and faster when its upgraded. While not
as fast as the machine gun, it's what you want if you want to blast through
multiple enemies at once.
Holding down the button when its upgrades gets the most out of it, it does
not seem to make a difference when it is at level 1.
*Machine Gun:
-----------
An excellent weapon, the machine gun is a very rapid fire weapon that is
great for quickly dispatching foes requiring more than one shot. It also
provides a constant stream of bullets so that enemies will be caught in the
stream if they cross it. Upgrading it adds a second stream, and they are
thicker. This lets you hit ground based targets without ducking down, very
useful.
Holding down the button will get the fastest stream.
*Rapid:
-----
Your default weapon, rapid is a weak gun with a moderate rate of fire. It will
take down most enemies fairly quickly in spite of this, though its size and
rate of fire leave much to be desired. It's a lack of power, coverage, and
speed that means you will take anything but this.
To fire it more rapidly, tap the button.
*Smart Bomb:
----------
A blank eagle symbol, it destroys all enemies onscreen. Useful, but don't
kill yourself trying to grab it.
*Spread Shot:
-----------
Red Falcon just wet his undies, the spread gun is a great weapon to have on
hand. The intial spread gun is a three-way shot, and the upgraded is a 5-way
shot. The only real drawback is a slight lack of power when compared to some
of the other weapons though it does have a fair bit of power. Rapidly tapping
the button to get the most out the spread gun will take down many threats
with relative ease.
This is great for thrasing suckers on the oppsoite screen.
--Challenge Mode Only:
*Classic Laser:
-------------
Fires a line laser out from the gun. This is not terribly powerful, though
it does have the ability to hit more than once. Only one laser may exist at
once, as such pulsing the button will have it stay just in front of you.
Only for challenge modes, take a minute to learn its finer points before
you go ahead through the challenge.
*Prototype Weapon:
----------------
This is a 5-missile homing attack. Take your time when using this and it will
really wreck the enemies. It has the same drawbacks as the normal homing, but
the extra missiles really do make a world of difference.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| CF4: Arcade Mode |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Let's Attack Aggressively!"
Arcade Mode is played over 9 stages (7 in Easy). Storm your way through the
stages and take out the boss enemy at the end of each one.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CF4.1: Stage 1: Jungle
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first level, you can feel the sweat drip as the chopper lowers you into the
jungle. Well then, let run to the right. After the first little hill, stop and
get the machine gun out of the blimp that passes by.
From the hill jump right while firing, you'll hit a dirk on the top of the next
plateau. Jump to where he was and keep both ends of the platform onscreen so no
fodder soldiers run up next to you. Aim down and shoot the hell out of the dirk
laid out across the ground before moving on.
Again jump and fire to take out a dirk as you continue right. At a bridge now,
if you want a flame gun you will have to go up. If you take the water route,
then you can avoid damage altogether by laying down in the water. This is
useful to remember for Challenge Mode later.
At the end of the bridge there is a turret and an upgrade box. Take out the
turret then shoot out the upgrade for the spread shot. Now, you may want to
switch back to your other weapon for now. Run right while aiming diagonally up
and right while firing to hit the next dirk. Jump up to the platform he was
standing on and continue right. When you see a turret raise out of the ground,
aim down and right and fire to destroy it. Continue right, use the grappling
hook and jump off onto the ledge.
Aim down and right as you run across the bridge so as to kill the dude jumping
up onto it. If you don't, he'll blow up the bridge - but that's a non-issue for
now. The blimp that arrives contains another (M) so you can have a maxed out
machine gun at this point if you kept the first one. Kill the Dirk near the
ledge and then grappling hook up to the rail near the top of the screen. There
is a dude laying down near here. If you move back and use the spread gun, he
will go down fast. If you can't hit him from the rail, get down there and jump
when he fires, take a shot, jump, take a shot and jump. Etc etc.
Running across the bridge here, make a choice. If you have the spread shot then
the top route is a decent choice. If you don't, the bottom may be more suitable
for you. Right at the start there is a (C) in an upgrade box for Crush missiles
so pick it up if you want... not the best choice HERE though as they have short
range until upgraded.
-Above-
As you run across the bridge aim down and shoot the guy who wants to blow it up
so as we can stay at the top. The same goes for the second bridge. There's a
power-up over the second bridge that will destroy all enemies.
There are a few dirks along the way but you must also destroy the dudes on the
lower path. Avoid their shots and return fire with the spread shot. Near the
end of the run there is a ground turret, so watch out.
Near the end of the run below there is a spread shot upgrade, so you can get
yours to level 2 if you take out some of the foes down below then jump down to
snag it.
-Below-
Trudge through the water and duck if you need to. Take aim at the Dirks and
grenade tossers and duck to avoid their fire into the water. After the second
bridge, watch out for dudes jumping down from above.
You can get a spread shot power-up near the end of this path.
-Back on Path-
Run up the hill firing. You can stop under these guy and shoot up if you so
wish, or just keep on charging to the right. When the ground evens out again
there will be a Dirk laying on the ground. Take him out then continue along.
Aim up and right and take out the dude on the hill to the right before he even
gets a chance to react.
Now, running right you will come to a gap. There is a Laser in a blimb coming
along on the top screen, so snag that if you will. As you continue right you
will come to another dirk, kill him. To the right there is an upgrade box,
grapple rail, and wall turret. Run over to above the wall turret and shoot down
to destroy it. Now, run over to above the upgrade. It is a Homing shot. To get
it, shoot down to activate it then press jump and down to jump down through the
cliff to get it. Now, immediately use your grapple hook to get all the way up
to that rail and to avoid death in a bottomless pit.
You may as well take the bottom route right, destroying the grenade throwers as
they appear. You could go up, but you'd be jumping down immediately. There is a
machine at the top of the screen that will antagonize you and while you can
ride it after destroying it, you will likely need to be on the ground to
properly fight it.
So when the machine arrives, it will periodically stop and launch a fireball
downa t you. Simply get out of the way when it stops. Fire up at it, homing
shot helps but switch if you're going to get hit. Eventually, it will stop
moving altogether and a hatch will open.
Now, if you wanted to ride it, you will have to NOT pass the second rail to the
right of the start as it is high enough to let you leap into the machine. The
fireballs destroy the greyish ground though, so be careful. Once you are in the
machine, you can shoot as you always did - except it launches a large fireball
downwards. If you jump, you will exit the machine.
If you just run right, the best place to fight it is where there are two
grapple rails running side by side. Near the end of these rails is a Dirk,
however, so be ready for him. Either way, you should destroy the rail machine
as it usually grants an extra life.
As you run right there will be two blimps - one for a flame gun and one for
laser. You may be able to fully upgrade one of them now if that was your
intention. The boss is to the right.
***BOSS***
A classic wall? Jump to the top of the hill right from the start and cream the
Dirk who is standing at the top of the wall. Stay to the left side of the hill
so as the two mid-wall turrets do not strike you. Stay above the core as it
will launch a laser forward. Now, you can aim down at this sucker from the hill
anyways but itcharges a bit before launching the laser so if you want a more
direct confrontation, you'll know what to expect. Defeat everything else first
though.
But that's not all folks. Stay toward the left of the top platform and aim up
and to the right as the wall raises to fill both screens. A few Dirks will be
at the top now. If you cannot get the angle right to hit them, wait until the
top core has fired its laser and then grapple the helicopter to get a better
shot at the Dirks. But jump down if the top core is about to fire again. This
gives you some breathing room when dealing with the rest of the wall.
After the soldiers are gone, stay at the upper left of that platform and aim
at the guns. After that, you can take out the cores. This is easy if you have
the homing gun. Otherwise, aim down at the bottom core and destroy it before
you worry about the top core. Use the helicopter to reach the top core if you
can't angle up at it. Just drop down when you see it charging. This battle will
be over soon.
User input:
==========
-User strat 1:
Sean Rhodes submits a safe method for taking on this wall. To perform this
strategy you're going to need to collect a fully upgraded spread shot in the
level and get to the boss without using a continue. Should be a simple task.
"When you've got the Spread Gun, just stand on the far left. Begin the battle
by holding R and diagonally. Then simply stand on the far left and shoot at
the wall. The Spread Gun makes it so that you'll hit the guns at the top of
the wall and the red eye at the same time. Duck when necessary.
When the wall rises, first hold R and shoot diagonally. Your shots should hit
all the men up top but one of them. If you feel you must take him out, do so,
but unless you move from the far left of the screen he can't actually hit you.
If you MUST hit him because you want to kill everything, just move forward
slightly and fire diagonally. Now take out the bottom half the same way you
did before. Ducking when necessary. Only the red heart at the top should be
left after this (unless you didn't kill the other guy). Everything should be
perfectly clear. You can shoot diagonally from the far left and at least one
shot should hit. If not, just stand in the middle of the bottom screen and
shoot up until it dies. This tactic isn't the fastest for defeating the boss,
but it's the safest and if you're good, won't cost you any lives."
Thanks Sean. The Spread Shot's probably something a lot of you have been
collecting anyways, so give it a whirl.
-User Strat 2:
David Rcikard sends a method to expediate the level 1 boss - people really seem
to have it out for our chum... It requires the level 2 Machine Gun, which you
are likely to covet on higher difficulties anyways...
"For the level 1 boss, you can beat this very quickly and with no danger to
yourself if you have the level 2 machine gun. Simply fire at the red core at
the start, and it will die in seconds. Then as the eye underneath opens up and
begins to rise, use the platform to keep the machine gun firing at it. It
should blow up before it goes out of reach. Then you can waste the bottom core
before anything can get a shot off at you."
-User Strat 3:
efire_ is all about killing bosses before they even materialze, so this one is
quite like the above strategy.
"All of your strategies on Level 1's tower boss involve the lengthy shooting of
each individual part of the tower. If you know what to do, this is pointless
and time-wasting. Here what everyone should do:"
Ha ha, guilty as charged brother. But don't forget that I did have to write
this with everyone in mind.
"This strategy makes the first boss into a complete joke. First, you need a
Level 2 weapon, preferrably M2 or C2. S2 works as well, but requires a bit
more skill. Anyways, as you run into the screen where the tower boss is
located, begin firing straight ahead like mad. Don't even bother to dodge the
sniper's bullet; if you did it right, the first core is quickly destroyed.
Keep firing. As the second core appears, continue firing like mad, jumping up
each platform as the core rises. If you need to, hold the R button and aim
diagonally up to finish off the top core. This core should die before it
reaches the top screen. Finally, jump down to the far left corner of the
screen and pummel the bottom core. It should blow up before the sniper shots
reach you from the top. Easy stuff."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CF4.2: Stage 2: Laboratory
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
to the right is a blimp holding a crush missile. This takes out the meat
puppets rather handily, so if you don't have an upgraded weapon you might
consider them.
For this part, I'll say it once - take your time. Aliens will be crawling
around in those tunnels to the upper screen and pop out at you. Take your time,
grapple the ceiling, and wait until it is clear before moving on. Scroll the
screen slowly in this part so that you only have one meat puppet on screen at
once. They explode after a bit if you can't destroy them and so youw ant the
extra room for evasion. Also, if there is an alien right on the wall, then it
can crawl through the wall itself... don't let it trick you.
The first of which appears right at the first pit. Scroll it onscreen, then
back off. Then there will be meat puppets. Aim down diagonally at them. If you
can't take them out then you will have to back off and see if you can't avoid
their explosion. When you reveal the destroy all enemies power-up, get a meat
puppet or two onscreen before you snag it.
As I said, it just takes patience to get through this part. If you run too fast
with poor weapons or plaina nd simple unfamiliarity then you will get killed
here as it can get VERY thick with enemies.
Either way, when you leave the lab you will be at a waterfall. Keep shooting as
you run right and you will kill a Dirk. Check the top screen and you will see
a dude throwing grenades. Aim up and fry him in the cookies. Jump on the right
wall and climb it up. If you can take out that wall turret from here?
Fantastic, so it. Otherwise, ride the platform left, climb the left wall and
take it out from right below.
There will be rocks falling at this point. They fall from those black holes, so
watch out. The upgrade box has a machine gun in it, if you need it. Otherwise,
let's head up. Fromt he scrap of the wall turret, let the big rock bounce
offscreen. Climb the right wall and let the rock bounce off the moving platform
and then jump onto it and to the left before it re-emerges. When it falls past
the two platforms immediately below the hole, jump up both of these and up to
the right. There is a homing shot in this upgrade box, excellent if you kept
the homing gun from level 1.
Let the rocks again fall past and jump onto the platform moving left and right.
The upgrade box over here has a flame gun in it. Destroy some of the fodder
soldiers before moving up. Head right and jump onto the rope. Hold up to climb
it to the top. Jump onto the moving platform ASAP however, as rocks will be
falling from above.
The upgrade box here contains a barrier. Grab it then climb the rope. Get the
spread gun as its blimb comes down and while still in a barrier, aim up and
destroy the Dirks waiting above. Then make your way up to this platform, you
will have to kill a few soldiers before you jump up.
Jump on the rope here, then jump onto the rope to its right. The Mr. Scuba here
weill fire once you pass him. Jump to the righthand wall and climb up and you
will avoid his grenades. Aim up at the Dirk on the top screen. Wait for the
rocks to pass before making your enxt move.
Climb the lefthand wall and aim up. Kill the grenade dude once you're at the
top then aim up and to the right to take out the Dirk. The upgrade box around
here provides crush missiles. If you kept them from the start of the lab, then
by all means take them.
Let the rock fall before making your way up. The upgrade box holds a machine
gun. Take care not to stay to the left of the screen so as the grenade doof
doesn't smack you with a grenade.
Mr. Scuba again, but be more worried about the soldiers. Just aim up and fire
if they climb down your rope. Start this act by climbing all the way to the top
of the central rope, then taking the righthand path. Things may change when you
shoot the blimb and reveal the spreadshot though, it is VERY useful in this
level's next segment.
When you make it onto the metal bridge, aim up and take out the suckers above
you. The first blimp is a laser so take it or leave it. The Dirks are less
threatening than the grenade tossers here, but you don't have room to be picky.
Just take care of everyone that appears.
***BOSS***
The boss sequence starts out with some stock enemies, but they are considered
by the game to be part of the fight. So, from the start stand a little ways
away formt he door, face it, and start firing when it opens. These stock troops
will go down fast.
There will then be four red Dirks. Take out two on one side as you run that way
then the other two safely pick off from across the screen. Now, two blue
grenade tossers will appear. Shot at them, and move when they toss and shoot
again. Keep it up and theyw ill soon be dead. Now, there are four black Dirks
appearing now. Run back and forth across the screen firing at them until one or
two drops. Jump to avoid the shots, or pause and move when they shoot. They may
not all shoot in tandem, however, so it's best to learn to move. Either way,
you only need to kill three as the boss kills the fourth.
This dude is straight out of Contra, but he has a major overhaul that is also
totally awesome. Aim at his head to damage him but watch out for the claws.
When he raises an arm, he'll be bringing it down - hard. Run and jump over the
purple shockwave. When it brings both arms together and moves down, run to the
opposite side of the screen and jump to avoid its tail.
It will then begin spewing balls of energy at you. You'll need to run between
the shots only once. Once one passes you, run past its position to avoid the
rest. This whole sequence is a great chance to rack up the damage on it. When
it slams the ground and pulls the platform up, run to its side and aim up.
Shoot the hell out of it from beside it - it spews the energy from the opposite
direction it started in. However, stand as far left as possible and you won't
get killed.
When he drops the platform, he'll move to the extreme of one side. From here,
he shows only one arm onscreen and this one will also be used to attack as he
did at the start, pounding the ground.
When he eventuallty blows up, the platform falls away. He begins to chase you
down the waterfall while spewing energy. Handle this as before, shoot up and
when a ball passes near you, run to the other side. He will soon be permanently
blopped and you can proceed to the next level.
-He's quite a but harder with the energy balls on Hard. you may have to jump
between two midair balls to make it. It's tricky either way.
-User Input:
==========
If you missed _efire's level 1 strategy, this is very much the same. Again, a
level 2 Machine Gun or Crush will do well here.
"Just have either M2 or C2, and continually fire straight up at the alien head,
moving only slightly to dodge the claws. After you start falling, just stand
in the center and fire straight up. Don't even move here; you should kill him
before any of the purple balls can reach you."
Folks, this could be key on hard mode to reduce the headache ;).
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CF4.3: Stage 3: Base
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another throwback, this is a third-person base. You can fire straight forward,
run left and right, jump and duck. There is a map of the base at the bottom of
the screen. These levels are actually the easiest in the game. And I mean that
in a sense of they aren't too overstuffed with foes.
*Adding this blurb to all bases:
As Andy pointed out to me, and I regret I didn't think to try it from the first
Contra is that you can lay down in the bases. Very useful to dodge bullets.
*Room 1:
Kill the soldiers as they run onscreen. One will drop a machine gun. Take it if
you need it. Destroy the red core to proceed to the next room.
*Room 2:
Destroy the central turret first and foremost. Then, take on the dudes running
in fromt he left and right. One of them drops a Laser, which actually works
wonders on the cores.
As for taking out the cores, you will want to run back and forth firing. You
may want to lay down and take out the bottom cores first as they can be a
little trickier to hit with the soldiers running onscreen.
*Room 3:
The cores aren't open right from the start. Run back and forth shooting the
soldiers that arrive until they do open. One of the dudes drops a flame gun
which is actually quite useful in these levels because it can hit lower or
higher targets (within reason) while standing (as opposed to jumping or laying
down) due to the large size of the shot.
When the cores are revealed, jump up and give em' hell.
*Room 4:
There will be metal cylinders from the bottom. You can jump over them and duck
down to destroy them but in this room they cannot reach the extreme sides of
the room so you cna avoid them altogether if you jump there.
The big targets are the wall turrets though. Destroy one right from the start,
then work on the next one. Once they're gone, just take your time with the
cores when the barrels have passed by.
*Room 5:
Again, the barrels can't reach the extreme sides. However, the soldiers more
than make up for that. Rend the soldiers and you will be able to pick up the
spread shot here which will come in handly.
You need to jump for the cores. Use the spread shot to take out both at once.
*Room 6:
The turrets that rise from the ground will glow white before they fire. Duck
and fire at them, but then run and jump when they go to fire at you. When
they're gone, or at least in much diminished numbers you can start shooting
the cores. The big core will open when all the little ones are gone. Pump it
full of lead and proceed to run on through to the boss.
*Room 7: Boss
There are barrels that roll across the ground here too, but they can reach each
side of the room so be prepared to jump. There are also soldiers in this room,
so shoot them when they appear.
The boss itself doesn't take much of a beating. It's, again, from Contra but
it's fought in the third person perspective this time. Jump and fire when it is
fully formed to damage it. It will also launch shots to either side of the room
which can be destroyed. If you don't destroy them, they move across the floor
so jump over them.
If you were able to hold onto a homing gun, it makes short, short work of this
boss. It really is this simple though, so just avoid the other hazard and jump
and fire at this sucker until he's downed completely.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CF4.4: Stage 4: Harbor
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jump down to the platform to the right, then onto the rail. Jump back to the
platform you just left and lay down. The dude shooting from the right will
shoot over to you. Destroy him then move across the rail until you see a Dirk
shooting fromt he top screen. Aim at him and take em' out.
At the next platform you will see another Dirk up there. Shoot the blimp for a
a flame gun if you want it, then jump back onto the previous rail, take out the
sniper, then jump back to the right. Keep to the top rails on the top screen
for now. Destroy the grenade tosser and grab the Homing gun from the blimp if
you want to - it's very useful in this level. Jump to the platform and kill the
sniper. The Mr. Scubas down below are shooting up at you, you can hit them when
they emerge or use the homing gun. Either way, we're avoiding them.
Jump down to the platforms below, then grapple up to the slanted rails at the
top. Move over, kill the Mr. Scuba then scroll the turret dude onscreen. Drop
down to a lower rail then kill him from below. Grapple back up and jump across.
Kill the Dirk up here and open the blimp for the Laser. There's one below you
as well - kill him then move on. As you run up the incline, watch out for the
grenade dudes and lay down when you get to the top - there is a dude in a
turret up here. Blast him and move on.
Ah, this sub should remind you of Operation C. It will shoot large shots from
the righthand side, small shots from the left, and rake the screen with
vertical lasers. Now, spread gun and homing are -super- helpful here and an
unpowered crush won't reach it unless you risk jumping down to the lower
rails.
If you do, you will have to grapple back to the top when it starts raking with
the lasers. Otherwise, just run across the top aiming down at the three turrets
to the right, big one on the left, and the four panels for the lasers. You can
avoid the lasers by running to the extreme side of the screen. The red shots
are big and obvious, but watch out for the small ones. When it spews those, you
DO have to make your way to the left side, and shoot the turret, but track the
shots on the bottom screen. If you can't aim diagonally at the laser panels,
just stand over them and aim down. Get a shot or two in and then run before the
lasers come - you have to shoot when they open after all.
There are proboterrors in the next area, and the option to go above or below.
Now, you can get some items above liek a machine gun, but the first you get on
the lower path is a barrier (then the flame gun). THe proboterrors take
multiple destructions to stay down - they will reform as a tripod walking
turret or a dog. With the barrier you can run through about half of these
suckers without issue. Otheriwse, you need to take it a little more slowly,
making sure they're destroyed before going on - because if they just crumble in
the same spots but at different times, running past may result in your demise.
User Input:
==========
Alex Cook had this to say about the Proboterror section:
"4. In stage 4 I found a way that you can earn a bunch of free guys. I guess
that you could do it in any level, but this one worked the best for me.
Right before you get to the platforms with the birdmen, your facing off
against the proboterrors that are running along the ground and the top
platform. If you go just near the end of this part, where the top platform
ends, you can just sit right there and shoot the proboterrors as they approach
you from the left (at this point they will only come from the left). The
machine gun works best for this as you can just hold the button down and press
up or down to get them. After 5 minutes or so I had gotten about 10 free
lives."
Pretty cool, especially if you don't want to bother with glitches. You can spam
enemies, get a few lives, and be on your merry way.
==========
We're at the halfway mark now, large staging rolls onscreen. There's not a
whole lot to say here. Gradually make you way up the staging using the
platforms and ladders. Kill the birdmen as they appear. A little ways up you
can earn a spread gun (it's the first blimp) and this helps immensely with
birdman crowd control. When you see a blimp that gives a machine gun, you're
getting towards the end of this segment.
At the top, use the grapple hook. The rocket will launch. When the next
horizontal rail scrolls onscreen, jump and grapple up again. And again for the
next one. Jump onto the vertical rail and the screen will shift to the left.
The wallhugger is kind of tough, but you can take him down really fast if you
exploit the pattern. Before the battle starts, get about 3/4 up the vertical
rail. Fire down at him. When he starts moving up, move down and he will punch
at your previous position. Fire up at him but when he slides, move up asap as
he will some down faster than he climbs and the punch will get you. If he
stops to fire missiles, stay above him, shoot the missiles, and start the
pattern over again.
User Input:
==========
Andrew Kurland has a strategy for the Missile Hugger 3000, which involves the
horizontal pipe at the top. I hadn't considered it, so many kudos.
"The Missile Hugger 3000 midboss on stage 4 is a pain in the ass, indeed, until
you get used to its pattern. I like to use that horizontal railing above me to
my advantage during this fight- the moment I know he's coming (as the screen
scrolls left), I immediately use the grappling hook (or climb and use the jump
my character automatically performs at the top of the vertical pipe) to get up
there and shoot at him. Once he starts climbing up to the height he needs to
punch me, I immediately drop down to the vertical pipe and slide down to avoid
the punch. I don't slide down much, and I keep firing at the boss all the
while once I know I'm out of the punch's way. I often get about three or four
bursts in on the midboss this way. Once I'm close to the bottom of the rail,
I slide down, wait for him to retract his hand from a punch, and jump- using
the grappling hook to repeat the process from the beginning- firing down and
to the left to ensure I shoot the missiles he fires once I do so.
Again, I did not test this on Hard."
Once he's destroyed, climb to the top of the vertical rail. Jump up and grapple
and then climb to the next horizontal rail. There will be a few circular
objects on the side of the rocket. Grab one, and away we go.
This part can be tricky. Whenever a new circle opens up, jump to it. The old
ones disappear. The spread gun helps here, fire at the missiles that are coming
in to meet you and destroy them before they hit. All the while, keep jumping to
the next hold and so on and so forth. At the end, you will have to jump up on
top of the rocket's bottom when it is heading down.
Yipe! Now we're avoiding rocket fire. There are three areas for the flames to
come from, and the rocket flares up before shooting fire. So, what we do is
stand in the middle as often as possible and run to a safe spot once we see a
flare. Once you see all three flare up, this segment is toast.
When the missile crashes, it's time for the boss fight.
***BOSS***
This sucker can be unpredictable, and that's what boosts his difficulty a tad.
This giant has two attacks - punching and missiles. Sounds simple, the missiles
are really easy to dodge, but the punches are another story. If he punches from
the arm farthest from you, then he will punch diagonally, making it very
difficult to avoid. Otherwise he punches straight down, easy to avoid.
He pumps his fist before delivering a punch, so you know where it's going to
come from. He's excited to be squishing you.
Now, I've found that he often tries the diagonal punches from offscreen and so
to avoid this what we can do is watch which way the robot giant moves. Follow
his posiition and he will often move his body back onscreen to put the pucks
to you. If he attacks from the opposite arm, then avoid it to the best of your
ability. Otherwise, wait for him to come back and avoid his straight down fist
attacks. I can't promise this will work, but I have had it work more often than
not.
When both arms are gone, you only have to worry about the missiles. Destroy or
avoid them and aim at his chops. He'll go down without much of a fuss.
User input:
==========
David Rickard has this to mention...
"...So when you blow one arm up, actually run over to his other arm so he
scoots over and punches down rather than punches diagonally."
I can't believe I neglected to mention that here, geez. Thanks for the wake up
call David, :).
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CF4.5: Stage 5: Ocean
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You're riding your little cycle over water here. The stage starts with some
filet o' deaths making your life miserable. They jump out of the water and fire
shots. Now, you can hit them when they leap or you can jump over their shots.
Either way, we need to track their position on the bottom screen. If you stay
towards the back of the screen, none will hit you when they jump out - though
the shots are another story of course.
The blimps that appear during this segment are in this order: C, M, F, and L.
Eventually there will be two long bone-like fish. C and M are great here. You
need to blow up their segments. Aim at them as they move around below you while
staying toward the centre of the screen. Move or jump when they surface to
avoid them.
Next up is a ship that launches blue robots out the top. Shoot these suckers
and their missiles, then move and jump when the missiles get too close to you.
The blimb here provides a smart bomb - definitely try to get it.
The next phase launches blue robots from beneath the ship. Stay toward the
middle robot launching panel and fire DOWN. When the middle bot is destroyed
move left to avoid his shot and then get back into position. Repeat until the
segment ends.
Up next is the black robot captain. Fire at him until he blows up but take the
opportunity to fire at the blue robots flying into the air as well. They're
just like before. A wide weapon, or the Homing shot from the blimp in this
segment, will be helpful.
***BOSS***
Two blimps, both very useful appear here: M and S. S is especially useful
against this dire fish. His pattern is really simple though he takes a real
beating.
Stay to the right of the screen when the battle starts. The fish arcs up with
an eye laser, raking the sky. Aim down with the spread gun and fire. You will
hit him at various positions such as the fins. If you don't have the spread
gun, just fire down and you'll still start to rack up the damage.
When he moves across the screen, don't follow him because he launches the
spikes fro his back. If one does get launched at you, jump to the right or
left to avoid it.
There are also plenty of filet o' deaths in this area. Most should be killed
by the spread gun but watch out for the others so that they do not jump into
you. Ouch. Dodge their bullets and move on if they manage to get above the
surface of the water.
Move to the side of the screen every time he does. He will use the laser
each time. Keep it up until he drops. When he does first swim away, strike
him in the eyes to deal damage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CF4.6: Stage 6: Factory
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another third person level, let's crush it with aggression and such.
*Adding this blurb to all bases:
As Andy pointed out to me, and I regret I didn't think to try it from the first
Contra is that you can lay down in the bases. Very useful to dodge bullets.
*Room 1:
Destroy the blue robots for a C upgrade. C is of course pretty powerful so
pick it up if you want something that will make short work of the door cores.
However, if you still have some upgraded weapons from the previous level, you
will probably dominate with those anyways.
*Room 2:
Turrets, turrets, and turrets. Destroy the turrets as they appear. On the
ground for the first wall, in the air for the second, and one on the ground and
one in the air for the third. The C will hit a few at once it seems, so if that
is the case, you'll clobber the cores as you fire at the turrets on the third
walls anyways.
Either way, make your way from one side of the room to the other. Dodge the
shots and clean house.
*Room 3:
Ingrid Birdmen will be jumpin in from the centre of the screen. Kill a few of
them for a spread gun. Don't replace C if you're starting fresh here. Pound the
barriers over the cores until they break or recede, then destroy all three
cores to proceed.
*Room 4:
Aim at the spinning core but beware of the turrets that pop up. These will
fire at you unless you dispatch them quickly. Basically, fire at the core then
stop and crush the turrets that pop up - the core will probably be hit by
stray shots anyways but refocus your efforts once there are no onscreen turrets
to deal with.
*Room 5:
A few robots will run onscreen. Then the cores will pop up - use the spread
or crush if possible to quickly break these miniwalls before they ram you.
*Room 6:
You can get a laser from the robots in here, but unless you want it focus your
efforts on the cores. Spread or homing works well in this room as you will be
blocked off from part of the room briefly unless youd estroy the cores really
fast.
That object on the ceiling will move forward and slam down. Focus on avoiding
it, but when it slams down, you are cut off from part of the room. That's where
wide weapons really help - so as not to miss out on destroying robots.
*Room 7: Boss
Robo-Corpse! But don't fret, he's nothing to be feared. Stay in the middle of
the screen. He launches streams of flamefrom side to side and you're going to
have to avoid them. He usually goes in this pattern: two low and one high. Jump
over the low streams and duck under the high streams. Make sure you note the
difference in them. He's never mixed it up for me but that doesn't mean it's
not a possible deal, dig?
So bop him in the face with your shots when you leap over the flames and before
you duck under the high flames. He should drop pretty quickly.
But that's not all there is to the Robo-Corpse. He'll chase you through the
hallway to the previous room and open the doors here. Use a rapid weapon (drop
one and go to your normal, Rapid gun if need be) and blast one of the door
cores as fast as you possibly can. If you do it, Robo-Corpse will be
decapitated. If you don't, he'll opent he doors and you need to try it again
after dodging his streams. Again, these seem to be two low, one high.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CF4.7: Stage 7: City
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The City has shades of Alien Wars for sure. Start by running up the hill. At
the top, a blimp holding the flame gun will pass by, if you so desire. However,
there is a turret gunner just to the right so it may be in your best interest
to lay down and shoot him up.
Just a short jaunt ahead, you'll see a blimp which holds a machine gun. Useful
if you've come here unarmed. Head right past the man-faced mutt and he will
run after you (they will not if you're playing easy). Jump and fire down to
kill him. Now, aim straight up at that robo sniper and destroy him before you
move on.
Move past the door and a blue robot will pop out. Destroy it and grapple up
when you can get a chance. Jump to the building to the left of the grapple
rail and lay down. Fire at the grenade robot until it is destroyed, get back on
the rail and continue right.
If you want the spread shot, drop onto the building positioned centrally
beneath the grapple rail/wire. Shoot straight down to kill the mutt and any
robots. You may also strike the blimp carrying the Spread Shot. Drop down to
grab it and immediately grapple back up.
Now, back on the wire let's head right and jump to the next rooftop. Lay down
and kill the turret gunner here. Proceed just a little ways to find another
and do the same. At the end of the building, scroll the blue sniper bot onto
the screen. If you have spread or homing you can hit him from far away.
Otherwise you will need to get closer to hit him by aiming or jumping and
firing diagonally. Once he's gone, jump to the next rail.
Scroll right until you see the arm of a black sniper. Aim down at him on a
diagonal and fire. Dodge his shots and keep firing. Don't proceed until he
drops. Near the end of the rail is a homing shot. This is useful for both here
and the boss.
Destroy the meat puppet on the ground and the robot to the right while you stay
on the rail. Jump to the top buildings and kill the worms and robots up here.
You may just want to let the meat puppets explode if you can't hit them. There
is plenty of room to dodge.
Back on the ground, there's a black sniper on top of the next building. No
question, destroy him before you proceed or else he will terrorize you while
you fight the sub boss coming up. The tank that will roll into view is easily
handled with some patience. Jump over everything it fires at you - shots AND
bombs. Fire at the hull like a madman until it drives forward. Lay down so as
not to get killed. You can get some extra hits in at this time if you have
homing or spread.
Move it to the right and take out the fodder troops as they arrive. As for the
meat puppets on the roof, take them out or let them explode before you proceed.
A robot will jump from the door, destroy it. To the right, there is a mutt.
Nevermind it and just grapple up to the wire. There's a grenade robot here.
Jump over its grenade if you need to then take it out.
Move across the building and destroy the worms and the turret gunner. There is
a sub boss just ahead.
This spider can be one tough customer. Aim up at him as he fires shots at you
moving back and forth to dodge them. He launches fireballs at the walls, so
stay off of them for most of the fight. They travel down the wall when they
hit. When it turns its head and stops, it's going to sweep the area with its
lasers. Jump to the opposite wall that the boss is pointing. If you have to
wait for a fire wave to pass, fine, but get up there. Once he starts raking the
screen, climb up the wall and stay just ahead of the laser. When it stops, get
down a smidge and jump back to the main platform. Aim up and continue to blast
this mechanical terror.
After this, climb the next building and run across. Jump at the very end and
try to land after the fire. Hit the ground and come out gunning. There's a mutt
just ahead - jump and shoot downwards when it activates to slay it. There's a
flame gun just ahead when the robots start to appear as well - not bad if you
picked one up at the start of the stage. Otherwise, you probably have something
you want to keep for the time being.
Jump and grapple to the above the fire pit. Move right through this part. If
an alien wasp grabs you, aim up and strike it down. Otherwise ignore them to
the best of your ability. They will carry you offscreen and kill you given
half the chance though.
You may want to skip over the black sniper at this part - too many hits and too
difficult to avoid with all the wasps around. You MUST kill the blue robot
sniper, however.
You will soon be grappling up to the top screen. Do the overhand shimmy as fast
as possible so as to avoid the wasps. Make sure to kill any worms on the wire.
Drop down and take the bottom path as it has a blimp with a homing shot (also
Crush) and homing is very useful against the boss if you're low on lives at
this point.
Just run on through blasting the robots until you reach the end. Make sure you
slow it down a bit when the top path opens up so one doesn't stomp your head.
***BOSS***
The Crustacean Cruiser emerges from the ground here - make sure you are on its
shell or else you will be trampled. Now this, this is why I love Contra. Over
the top beasties running at top speed through a city and robots on hovebikes.
What's not to love?
Well, either way the Cruiser is not a very difficult fight. Stand at the top
of it and aim down at the pulsings spots on his carapace - there are four of
them and they are huge so you aren't going to miss them. Blast these and then
it's time to work on the head.
Now, you would have been dodging shots from those blue robots all along, yes?
Keep it up an decide how you will handle the head. You can stay up here if you
have homing but if you don't you'll need to jump down to the ledge at the base
of the carapace.
Jump to it and lay down here and see if your weapon (like the spread shot) can
hit its face. If not, you will need to destroy a group of robots and jump onto
one of their hovercycles. Awesome. Move up next to its face and start blasting
away like crazy.
The red robots that appear toss grenades. Back off from the face when they
appear (or any robot really) and either reverse while firing or lock in
posiiton and take them out. Either way, you need to deal with them.
If you stayed at the top of the cruiser with homing, the fight is a little
safer though very long unless the homing is level 2. Lay down or aim down at
the spike of the carapace that was above the rightmost orb. Fire the homing
shots down and some will hit the face though most will hit the robots. Usually
a robot will back off, then a missile will head to the face once it lacks a
target. Avoid the bullets of the blue guys and keep firing homing missiles
whenever you get a chance.
No matter which way you take, the Cruiser is dead once the head is destroyed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CF4.8: Stage 8: Alien Hive
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, now we're getting somewhere. Back to the third person view for this
one. a gentle reprieve before the main event, I guess.
*Adding this blurb to all bases:
As Andy pointed out to me, and I regret I didn't think to try it from the first
Contra is that you can lay down in the bases. Very useful to dodge bullets.
*Room 1:
No problem. The mouths next to the eye core are cannons. Destroy both of these
and take out the eye to proceed.
*Room 2:
The ye turrets in the floor fire soon after rising. Take a few shots but stay
on the move. They kind of move after firing as well - track their position at
the floor by vieiwing how the shadowy circles move. Once they're destroyed,
take out the three eyeball cores.
*Room 3:
Kill the Viper aliens as they enter from the sides. One will drop a flame gun,
which as you know isn't bad in the third persons tages, but avoid it if you
have your weapons of choice.
Destroy the eyes on the ground by firing at them whenever they open.
*Room 4:
I find it can take a while for the eyes to open in this room. There are Viper
aliens running across the ceiling. They drop and charge to the side when they
land. If you don't have homing shots you're going to have to move to the side
and leap over them when they land.
Fire at the eyes when they eventually open, if even for a second.
*Room 5:
Kill the mouth turrets first, no matter what you do. There are eyeball turrets
that can raise from the ground but they don't compare, really. Dodge the eye
shots and destroy the mouths. Then, focus on the eye turrets when they raise
but moreover the eyecores so that you can cut this room short.
*Room 6:
There are little scorpion aliens running forward, they are like the barrels
from the first stage. But you should be focusing on the mouth turrets. Take aim
at them and destroy them, keeping to the extreme sides to avoid the scorpions.
The little dudes can be jumped over or destroyed if you really want to deal
with them or need to move across to the other side. Destroy the eyeball when
the mouths are gone (or sooner) and proceed.
*Room 7:
Homing really, really helps but it isn't necessary. If you picked up fire at
the start, there's another here to boost your collection.
You have vipers in the background and vipers on the ceiling. The homing shot
eliminates ANY work in this round. But if you don't have it, shoot the aliens
as they run on and leap over the ceiling crawlers. Shoot the large eyeball
every chance you get.
*Room 8: Boss
This giant heart will not attack you directly, instead eyeball turrets will
rise to shoot you. Just run back and forth shooting at the heart. The screams
may drown out the noise the eyeballs make but they flash before they shoot so
watch for that and jump. This is reallya ll there is to it, fire and dodge,
fire and dodge. It'll go down soon enough.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CF4.9: Stage 9: Harvest Yard
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, here we go. The final lap. Run to the right. There'll be two blimps -
an S and an H. Both are exceptionally useful in the Harvest Yard proper. If you
aren't sticking to your faves, or if you don't have anything right now, you
will want to collect one of them. There's an F a little bit to the right, which
isn't bad if upgraded but we have better for now.
That tank holds a sub boss. He's not a pushover, either. Stick to the left side
of the screen for when he busts out of his tube. Grapple to the top screen and
start pummeling him. When he moves toward your side of the screen, move towards
the opposite, when he jumps to the ceiling, you drop to the floor. When he
moves back and forth along the ceiling, tracking your posiiton, try your best
to get out of his way for when he drops. He's hard, but as long as you can keep
one step ahead of him, he should go down.
Watch the delightful scene, and when it is over fire straight up to last and
opening. When the corpse in the wall appears grapple it and enter the harvest
yard proper.
Purple eggs spew those little scorpion dudes out and they can be a major pain
in the ass if they aren't stopped here and now. Destroy the purple egg before
climbing up. Just keep this pattern up as you climb. You can climb the walls as
well as the fleshy ropes. Don't get tripped up on the walls by accident - you
may try to jump from a rope and get stuck to a wall, making you easy alien
chow unless you can catch this when it happens asap.
When you emerge from the pit, you'll see some skull-faced platforms. Along the
walls there are these mouths which spew little enemies at you. Destroy them
with impunity unless you just want to charge on through, and that's perfectly
fine my dear.
Take the top path if you eventually want to get the spread shot or take the
bottom route if you don't want to risk falling into a nest of enemies. There
are more eggs - priority and vipers. These aliens will either run at you or
drop down fromt he ceiling (yellow run, purple climb). If you're grappling
across the ceiling you will need to dispatch the purples as you see them.
Outside of that, there's a machine gun before you start this section. There's a
laser along the bottom and a spread on the top platform follwoing the rope
section. Fill her up good buddy.
When you get to the extreme right of the stage you need to start climbing to
the top. There's a lot of purple alien eggs here. I advise you to destroy every
egg from below before trying to climb. Homing or Spread is best for this, as
you don't have to line up exactly.
Head left at the top. If you want crush, take the top path, otherwise stick to
the bottom. The purple winged vipers here fly down to your level and fly at
you. They aren't too tough, however, so pause and kill them when they rear
precious mugs.
After the jump across the pit, take the top route if you want a barrier. As you
make your way across the ropes over the pit, pay special attention to the
winged vipers so as not to let them land on top of you. You can get a spread
shot on the bottom path.
There's another climb at the far left. Only a few eggs here, but be sure to
take them out regardless.
At the top move across and to the right. However, some of the skull platforms
pull in when you jump on them... try to jump to the centre of the platforms.
Kill the ceiling crawlers when they appear - lock in place and blast them.
If you want one of the power ups, you will have to drop down after shooting one
and grapple back up. Dangerous, but it's up to you. Most of them are Flame.
Towards the end of this section there's a mouth. You need to destroy this one.
Get close to it, lock in position, and fire up at it. Jump down and to the
right and leap again so when the platform pulls in you don't perish.
A few aliens and eggs later and you're ata nother climb. Again, as always, you
need to destroy all of these eggs before you continue. Get to the far left end
and start to run left.
Ah, a crushing celing. Wait for it to rise then run left, jump the pit and
pause by the egg. Aim up and left to kill the little scorpion dude when he
leaps out and then lay down to destroy the egg.
The wall raises again, run left. Jump over the pit and run against the wall
when you come to it so as to continue into the safe spot when the wall crashes
down. Keep running left and get carried up. Jump off and run to the next
opening and lay down so as not to get crushed. When the wall goes up, move to
the left again and lay down under the next opening.
It'll raise again. Move to the next, larger opening. Run against the wall and
move through when it raises. The mouth may spew some little guys at you. You
may want to destroy it before you leave this place with the dropping ceiling.
Get the blimp here for a spread shot. There's another blimp to the left with
a Crush inside.
Begin your final climb. Destroy the eggs on the platforms and make your way all
the way up. Stomach acid will begin to spill in. Let the spikes on the side
shakes for a second and then dodge them by jumping up and over. They form a
platform for you to stand on.
You'll be taken to the boss, with an opportunity for laser and machine gun on
the way.
***BOSS***
Alright, let's get down to it. You can shoot the brain and the eyes. The snake
armns will antagonize you all through the fight. The snakes can rock down next
to you to hit you.
The snakes have a couple forms of attack. For one, one snake will cover the top
and one will cover the bottom. The snake that flows down should be avoided, run
from it by running to the far side of the screen that it is heading to. Jump if
it makes you feel more secure.
There's also two ways that they will cover the middle. For one, the snakes take
outside edges of the room. When they do this, grapple the face in the top
centre of the room and take the opportunity to shoot a couple of shots at the
snakes.
If the snakes come down the centre, they will split out and go to the sides. so
stay in the centre and they won't be striking you.
Now that we've got that out of the way, how about damagin the boss? When the
snakes recede, strike at the two large eyes. Now, spread shot is the best for
this but others work as well. An upgrades crush is frightening, for example.
You will also want to be shooting the snakes in the head so as to destroy them.
The best time to do this is when you are grappled to the head at the top centre
to avoid their middle screen attack. But you can get them when they recede as
well, such as when they chase you across the ground.
When a snake is gone, a grapple point appears where they left off. Grapple up
and strike the head in the brain. Drop down, the brain will fly down. Start to
shoot the hell out of it as fast as you can aim up on a diagonal and avoid its
attacks. When it leaves, it drops a weapon so make use of it if you've killed
a few times.
When it comes down in the centre like this it will either launch little brains
or purple fire. The fire is easy, the brains aren't. Pound the hell out of it
to get it offscreen asap. Avoid the fast moving brains as much as possible.
The brains are actually fired off in a pattern, diagonals then horizontals and
verticals. If it's coming down to the lower right corner after you, lay down
and it won't get you (usually). Or you can remember that it is in a pattern,
jump the non-diagonals, and let the diagonals miss you.
Sometimes when the brain appears it drops four bouncing brains. Aim at them
and take them out asap. Move beneath them as they bounce and strike at them.
Everytime you grapple up there just give it nuts. Machine Gun or Crush is the
best course of action here. A snake WILL restore after a short time, so waste
no time in getting up their and blasting the brain in the little head.
It's probably best to stand in the centre for when the brain comes down. This
lets you respond to any direction it arrives from. Or from the righthand side.
Even if you stand in the centre, you will be moving off to the side for any of
his attacks. sticking tot he righthand side may actually best in that respect..
This boss can be unpredictable, but keep it up and he will drop.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| CF5: Challenge Mode |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Irresistable Force"
I've written for the following challenges. The strategies aren't a lock, of
course, but they're what worked for me:
01 - Bad Guy Blitz 1 21 - Accuracy 2
02 - Pacifism 1 22 - Gunplay 3
03 - Mutt Hunt 1 23 - Speed Run 4
04 - Pacifism 2 24 - Rematch 3
05 - Bad Guy Blitz 2 25 - Accuracy 3
06 - Gunplay 1 26 - Friendly Fire 2
07 - Bad Guy Blitz 3 27 - Mutt Hunt 4
08 - Rematch 1 28 - Bad Guy Blitz 6
09 - Speed Run 1 29 - Friendly Fire 3
10 - Bad Guy Blitz 4 30 - Gunplay 4
11 - Pacifism 3 31 - Mutt Hunt 5
12 - Speed Run 2 32 - Rematch 4
13 - Mutt Hunt 2 33 - Low Ammo 1
14 - Bad Guy Blitz 5 34 - Friendly Fire 4
15 - Gunplay 2 35 - Low Ammo 2
16 - Rematch 2 36 - Speed Run 5
17 - Accuracy 1 37 - Pacifism 4
18 - Friendly Fire 1 38 - Low Ammo 3
19 - Speed Run 3 39 - Speed Run 6
20 - Mutt Hunt 3 40 - Rematch 5
---Accuracy---
*Accuracy 1:
----------
Challenge Number: 17
Level: City
Target: 90%
Run up the hill and duck at the top. Pump 8 shots into the turret soldier to
scrap him. Continue to the right.
Skip past the blue robo-sniper and grapple up to the rail. Pump him with three
shots, then turn to focus on the grenade bot. Wait for him to launch a grenade
and shoot him. If the shot hits a grenade it counts against your accuracy so
take care here.
Jump to the next roof and take down the turret soldiers by laying down. They
each take 8 shots. Jump past the robo sniper and keep going right. With just
the black sniper firing at you, scroll a meat puppet onscreen and let it
explode. Now, jump down when the grenade bot pauses and kill the meat bags in
front. You should have 100% accuracy so let loose a little.
Just past the building is the end point.
*Accuracy 2:
----------
Challenge Number: 21
Level: Jungle
Target: 100%
This one is horrifying until you geta game plan ;). Run this one like pacifist
only shooting when you have to. There are actually very few targets you HAVE to
kill. Just soldiers that get in your way, and the sniper Dirks who are right in
your way.
Fromt he start, get to the plateau and jump right if it's clear of fodder.
Deliver shots to the sniper and jump up to his perch run to the right. Deliver
two shots to the next sniper and jump to his perch as well. Run across the
bridge. If there are soldiers below you, jump when they do elsewise they will
Mario-bop you into submission. Skip the wall cannon and take out the dirk sniper
on the next ledge and head across. Simply jump up to the rail, nevermind the
fodder or the ground turret.
Running across the bridge, let it blow up. Kill the sniper at the bottom of the
cliff with two shots and grapple up before the calvary gets you from behind. Up
here, rmemeber there's a gunner laying on the ground. He takes 11 shots. Shoot
at them in bursts like this - 3,3,3,1, and 1. Just 1 shot after the 9 each time
so we don't get carried away.
At the next bridge, take the lower route. This route leads to the water, of
course. Run through this area, ducking into the water. You can take out a few
of the troops but as few as possible - you can't spare a shot.
Run up the hill at the end of the water path. Remember - there is one more
ground sniper here. Take him out, and any others in your way (none from the
platforms up high though) and continue on until you get the victory screen.
*Accuracy 3:
----------
Challenge Number: 25
Level: Laboratory
Target: 70%
This one's long but not too bad. The grenade tossers and snipers each take one
hit and as such won't be too much of a problem.
Take this one as if you were doing a pacifist run. Whenever you scroll one of
those enemies onscreen, take the time to quickly dispatch it. Too many enemies
may result in too many stray bullets and thus low accuracy.
If you want to really boost up the accuracy, then spam the stock soldiers. As
you know, there are a few points where they run from either side of the screen
with no end.
The other big threat is right after where the barrier once was. Scroll both
snipers onscreen. Take out the one on the left. Then climb up dodging the other
dude and shoot him when he's horizontal to you.
The other point of contention is after the second Mr. Scuba. Keep up the
middle rope until he's scrolled offscreen. Try to avoid having to fight the
stock soldiers here if possible, but give into the temptation if they're
descending the rope you're climbing.
---Bad Guy Blitz---
*Bad Guy Blitz 1:
---------------
Challenge Number: 1
Level: Harbor
Bad Guy: Viper Aliens
The viper aliens come in great numbers but it's only the yellow variety here.
This challenge really is as simple as running to the end. These suckers are
tall enough that running straight ahead and firing.
I would take the bottom route here. There's no real need for a great weapon
here as their numbers aren't so strong. But if you take the bottom route you
can snag a barrier and that will let you run forward with a little more
safety.
Watch out where the paths open up, they will jump down from above. Maybe stop
briefly, hold R and aim about at these points.
*Bad Guy Blitz 2:
---------------
Challenge Number: 5
Level: Laboratory (Waterfall)
Bad Guy: Ingrid Birdmen
this one is actually pretty tough. The birdmen can be tough to see on the
waterfall background. Head right firing until you come to the first jump.
Leap up here and let the Birdmen jump down in front of you, pump them full of
lead and begin the climb.
For the turret, scroll it onscreen just barely, then jump below to the
platform you would have just left. Fire up at it and rip it to shreds before
you continue along.
It's worth it to pick up the homing gun when you get a chance to. Once you
have it, don't let up. Watch out for rocks and keep climbing until you come
to the position of the Barrier. Get this barrier, and just like the main
game you're going to have to grab the spread gun and take a few shots up to
scour the area above you and down the birdmen.
Skip past the Mr. Scubas as always. There's usuallya birdman in the same
position that a Dirk was previously - so that should tip you off to their
position. It's worth the risk to bypass the Scubas, however. Scroll them off
of the screen asap, then clean up with homing or spread, spread is more
effective for crowd control.
Otherwise, take it slow and note the birdmen when they appear on the
waterfall. The blue guys can be hard to see, and that's what will probably
get you more often than not until you're actively looking for them.
Some __seem__ to jump right out of the water. For this reason, if you have
to pause I suggest doing so againsta background of rock.
*Bad Guy Blitz 3:
---------------
Challenge Number: 7
Level: City
Bad Guy: Viper Aliens
Start this one on the run, otherwise a viper will get you in the back. Once
you are on the rails, take your time. If a viper flies down near to you, aim
and dispatch. Keep moving to the right. Look before you grapple - make sure
you don't slam into a viper.
When you see a blimp, it is a smart bomb. Probably a good idea to pick it up
though it isn't necessary. Take the bottom route here and grab the next blimp
for a homing shot. Run forward firing homing missiles. If a viper comes up
behind you and it hasn't been stopped by a missile, you will need to jump
over him and take care of business. When the top path opens, watch out for
vipers jumping down. It may be best to switch to Rapid or whatever else you
have and take these segments more slowly.
*Bad Guy Blitz 4:
---------------
Challenge Number: 10
Level: Harvest Yard
Bad Guys: Stock Soldiers and Purple Vipers and Hatchlings
Take the top route from the start. Grab the machine gun and stick to the top
route, stop on the ropes and aim at the vipers and blast them down before you
move on.
We want to stick to the top of this route because it's the best opportunity
to get the spread shot - super useful in this challenge. Grab the spread shot
and get to the climbing portion at the far right.
Use the spread shot to aim up and rend those eggs to pieces. If you need to
use the machine gun, that works well you just won't get as many at once.
Heading left, take the lower route and get the blimp down here for a spread
shot upgrade. Be careful of soldiers jumping down from above. Take your time
and make use of the spread shot's wide range of cover.
When you get to the far left shoot out the alien eggs and start the climb. A
short distance up and you'll have your victory.
*Bad Guy Blitz 5:
---------------
Challenge Number: 14
Level: Jungle
Bad Guy: Proboterror
You're going to want the upgraded machine gun in this stage. Start to the
right and grab the first machine gun. Just run on through and pass the
proboterrors you drop. Take the water path when the route splits. Duck into
the water if a terror shoots or comes near.
Blast open the turret and the upgrade box. Grab the spread shot and destroy
the proboterrors immediately near you. Stick to the upper paths from here
and grab the railing leaving the terrors behind ont he ground.
Now, when you come to the grapple rail far up in the air, watch out for
proboterrors running about up above.
When the path splits again, take the water route. Blast turrets with the
spread shot and duck the proboterrors. Just keep this up, and after the
water you should soon find this sucker complete.
*Bad Guy Blitz 6:
---------------
Challenge Number: 28
Level: City
Bad Guy: Proboterror
Proboterrors this time, and I think they either have a hell of a lot of
stamina or are invincible.
This one I find not as difficult as the Jungle proboterror challenge. Get
running to the right fromt he start and firing at the terrors. Watch the top
of the buildings near the grapple rail. Let the proboterrors jump off the
roof and grapple up there.
Open the blimp with the spread shot and jump down to grab it. Immediately
grapple up. For the terrors up here, keep pushing them right to the edge with
the spread shot. Knock them off the roof then jump over to the grapple rail.
When on the rail, scroll the black sniper onscreen and kill him with the
spread. Continue only after he has been taken down.
Let the proboterrors run off of the next building and then jump to the upper
ledge. Make your way slowly right and make sure the top platform to the right
is clear before you make your leap. If you have to shoot some terrors off of
the roof, then so be it.
Jump right for victory!
---Friendly Fire---
*Friendly Fire 1:
---------------
Challenge Number: 18
Level: Laboratory
Take this one extra slow. Stay on the ceiling and pass when there's no aliens.
Pick up the Crush missiels and make use of them when the meat puppets appear.
If a human runs onscreen, don't shoot at them. Just run back and hold your
position untilt hey have taken off. Please remember - if a human runs to a
ledge, he or she will run back the other way.
I do not recommend laser as it passes through enemies. At least with the Crush
you
*Friendly Fire 2:
---------------
Challenge Number: 26
Level: Jungle
You want an upgraded machine gun and an upgraded spread shot.
Stick to the top paths at the start for the most part, stopping on a lower
path only for the spread shot. Use Rapid only for this first part. Scroll the
hostages onscreen and let them run away, only taking out the shmucks that get
in your way. tap it. Machine gun will probably kill hostages.
There is another hostage after you grapple up to the cliff before the bridge
with the second machine gun bimp. Let him or her run right then use the
spread gun on the sniper laying down.
Take the bottom route as usual. The water is super helpful this time. It is
a matter of ducking in the water until a hostage runs offscreen, or even
using the more focused machine gun on targets instead of the spread.
When you get to the second bridge of this segment, get the smart bomb. This
helps clear the place up so you can weave on through.
When you get to the hill, run on all the way up. Don't let your itchy trigger
finger get the better of you here- if someone runs at you it's a hostage.
Continue along to the spot where we normally get the homing gun. Give it a
miss and destroy the wall turret with your double machine gun. Get the next
two grenade tossers with the double if there are no hostages nearby.
Switch to your 5-way spread shot for the mid boss. Clobber it without moving
past the rail. you want it to ride. Just jump over any soldiers that come
near and blast em'. Ride that sucker all the way to the end, jump out, head
right and you're done. Phew!
*Friendly Fire 3:
---------------
Challenge Number: 29
Level: Harvest Yard
You need to take the top route from the get go here to avoid the bulk of
xenomorphic villains.
Grab the machine gun and grapple up. Kill some vipers and scroll the hostage
onscreen. Pass him or her and run forward and gun those suckers down. Climb
over the ropes and keep on going. Shoot any purple vipers up here with the
machine gun. At the far end, there's a platform in the sky. Jump here and kill
the mouth. Grab the spread shot as your second weapon.
Start the climb. Kill as many of the eggs as possible without climbing too high
using the spread shot. Switch to machine gun when you see the hostage. Fire off
a burst when he or she runs out of range and lay off it when they come back.
At the top, take the left route, and kill the aliens with the spread shot. You
should be able to outrun most falcon vipers, but stop and hold your ground if
need be. Towards the jump is the first histage so when you know you're getting
there, stop firing. Make the jump and take the bottom route. Upgrade the
spread.
At the far left climb up. I don't believe I've ever seen any hostages here but
be careful just as well.
Heading right, switch tot he spread gun and kill all purple vipers you see.
Kill the mouth at the end of this grapple rail and jump down. Now, slowly
forward, killing any enemy that comes onscreen - there are eggs here and they
must be destroyed before you proceed. However, the final hostage is also here
so you want to scroll slowly so you can ctach him or her in time and switch to
evasion mode. Pass the hostage then resume kicking ass.
The climb at the end leads to victory.
*Friendly Fire 4:
---------------
Challenge Number: 34
Level: City
Head up the hill and kill the turret gunner. Stop below the robot sniper and
destroy him. Run right, jump up and grapple to the rail. Destroy the grenade
robot and continue to his building. As long as there are no hostages, grab the
spread shot below you and then get back up here.
Back on the rooftops, scroll the turret gunners just barely onscreen so that no
hostages run forward. Lay down and fire one shot at a time until he dies. Do it
for the second gunner as well. scroll the blue robot just barely onscreen and
shoot it witht he spread gun. Not too far right or you will reveal a hostage.
Over the fire, skip the black sniper and grab the homing shot (keep the spread
gun). Use it to take out the enemies immediately to the right on the rooftop
and head over. Dodge the meat puppet explosions and carefully take out the
other enemies down here with you. Jump down to the right.
Scroll the black sniper onscreen and kill it before any hostages appear. Head
right and use the spread shot in your fight against the tank. Remember - there
are hostages above you so don't kill them by accident.
Run right, throw away your homing. Shoot the stock guys and meat puppets with
rapid until they die and slowly move on. We use rapid so as not to hit any
friendly people. Keep running past the small building, nevermind the blue robot
when it jumps out, and jump over any soldier in your way until you see the
victory indicator.
---Gunplay---
*Gunplay 1:
---------
Challenge Number: 6
Level: Harbor
Weapon: Prototype
This one's not too bad. The prototype is kind of like the upgraded homing shot
except two extra missiles - so it is very useful. And it makes this challenge
cake.
Proceed through the harbor as you always have, spamming the gun. Stick to the
high route and take out snipers as soon as they appear onscreen.
You do have to face the sub, but it's pie. Just start firing and don't stop.
Avoid it as you always have been - stick to the extreme sides to avoid the
raking lasers.
Take the proboterror phase slowly. Even though you have a rockin' weapon, they
do get back up. Just take it it slow because if too many get onscreen, the
missiles may not track the proboterror you want them to.
*Gunplay 2:
---------
Challenge Number: 15
Level: Harbor
Weapon: Classic Laser
The classic laser is a hard weapon to get used to, but it's really not so
tough when you know how to use. Only one stream can exist at a time, so if
you pulse the button, you get a poor man's flamethrower...
At the top of the hill, lay down and blast the turret Dirk just up ahead.
When you see the robot firing from atop the building, go beneath him and
fire a stream straight up. Pass the door and pulse the laser at the robot
that comes out. Grapple up to the first grapple rail you see. Fire a laser
at the grenade robot.
Jump to the roof after the rail and lay down. Shoot the turret dirk. Take
out the very next one in the same manner. There's a robot just ahead firing
but you may not be able to angle at him to frag it. If this is the case dodge
his shots and shoot down straight at him with a pulse. Ballsy, but it may be
necessary.
This is important, just barely scroll the black sniper onscreen. Aim down and
to the right and fire a laser. It takes a few to beat him so fire at him,
dodge his shots, and repeat. You must kill him if you want this challenge to
be smooth.
At the end of the grapple rail, let the meat puppet explode and move to avoid
his release. Aim down at the grenade bot and destroy him. Try to slay any of the
little worms before you jump on over.
take this next part slowly. Scroll meat puppets onscreen and let them explode.
Destroy any worms you see, and the one blue robot that's up on the building with
you? Shoot him as soon as you can see his hand.
Jump down once the path is clear of meat puppets. There is a black sniper to the
right on top of a building. Take him out from directly below. Don't go to far or
you will have to fight the tank witht he sniper above you - bad news.
The tank is handled as always. Launch a laser at it and let it hit. Then jump
over any shot the tank launches - fireball or bomb. I would advise against
trying to pulse it - you have to get too close.
Up ahead, let the meat puppets on top of the building explode as you take care
of the stock troops. When you pass the door, a blue robot will pop out, make
sure to turn and blast him. The end is just a few steps ahead.
*Gunplay 3:
---------
Challenge Number: 22
Level: Harvest Yard
Weapon: Prototype
This one's only a little chalennging due to the setting, but the prototype
weapon should pillage the area pretty soundly. Still, since it is a homing
varient, it could miss the real threats.
So for the first part, take the lower path and take it slow, periodically stop
and use R to aim your missiles so it takes out threats from above and the mouths
in the walls. eggs are also high priority. You can mostly run forward unless one
of these threats are present.
When you get to the climbing segment, just stay still and let the eggs have it
until the coast is clear.
Continue left in the same way your went about the first segment. When you get to
the grapple rails above the pit, aim up and fire to kill winged vipers and the
wall-mouths before continuing on.
Now, at the far left side of the screen, lets start the climb again. Destroy any
eggs before you continue. Now, we'll be heading right across the ceiling via
grapple rail again.
Use the prototype to strike the vipers crawling in the ceiling. Remember that
the skull platforms recess. Jump to their middle so that you won't be caught
off guard. But keep to the ceiling rails as much as possible.
When you come to a mouth, make sure you destroy it before you continue. At the
end jump down as far right as possible but remember that that skull will recede
so jump right asap.
Continue right slowly destroying everything in your path. You will come to
another climbing area with eggs. Again, destroy all of the eggs before you start
the climb.
At the top of this climb is the Victory screen. Bravo!
*Gunplay 4:
---------
Challenge Number: 30
Level: Jungle
Weapon: Classic Laser
Take the top path from the start. Pulse your laser except when you take out a
sniper. Don't bother with the gunners on the ground or the ground turret.
On the first bridge, let it get blown up. Fire a laser straight ahead to the
right and it should take out the sniper waiting at the bottom of the cliff.
Grapple up. You will have to take out the gunner here by laying down and
firing. Just fire, jump up to the rails, let the bullet pass under you, drop,
lay down, fire, rinse and repeat.
As always, we're going to jump into the drink at the next bridge. Use the
laser to dispatch the threats but at the same time duck into the water if an
enemy or bullet draws near.
Right at the end of the water path you'll gain victory.
---Low Ammo---
*Low Ammo 1:
----------
Challenge Number: 33
Level: Harbor
Ammo: 25
You can use one or two shots heading to the miniboss, but it's up to you. For
safety, you may want to use 2.
Move right until after the Flame blimp (don't get it) and the two sniper Dirk
McShooters. Jump and grapple up and jump back and down after the Mr. Scuba down
below fires his grenades. Land, aim down and right and kill the second Mr.
Scuba before you continue. OR you could jump right as his grenades descend,
this can be difficult however.
Grapple up to the diagonal grapple rail and jump right to the top path. Jump
over the sniper's shots, jump over him, and run right. Get the blimp along the
way for Crush missiles.
When you enter the sub's battle area, jump down tot he grapple rail on the
right and go to the righthand side. Aim down and left and destroy the turret
and the circular cannons. Move to the centre, and destroy the four laser
panels. Move to the far left side and destroy the leftmost turret - move to the
right if the shots are about to hit you.
Of course, don't use rapid fire here. You have a little breathing room, but
you will want to tap the button within reason - we need every shot we have.
*Low Ammo 2:
----------
Challenge Number: 35
Level: Jungle
Ammo: 32
Play this one like a pascifist from the get go. Take the middle route from the
start after you're sure there's no troops here, and the bottom route at the
second split. Duck into the water if a soldier comes near. Run and jump over
the turret to the left.
For the next split, jump to the middle at the second plateau (right before the
ground turret) and get to that rail.
Let the bridge to the right explode. Dodge the Dirk McShooter's shot and
grapple up to the top. Move right to the posiiton where the sniper is firing
straight up but you're to the right and it won't hit you. After the laying down
gunner fires, drop down and hit him a couple of times. He takes 8 hits, iirc,
in this challenge so don't go crazy.
At the bridge, drop down and grab the crush. Crush the first sniper to the
right then make your way through the water running all the way and ducking into
the water whenever a threat draws near.
Run up the hill. At the top, Crush the laying down sniper (takes only a few
hits so do one at a time) and the sniper on the hill. You might be able to jump
the few snipers on the cliffs, but you have plenty of shots left and you may as
well play it safe and shoot this guy and the one down the line.
Shoot both grenade tossers and run into the section with the miniboss. It is
possible, though dangerous, to make it shoot snipers for you. Your best bet is
to leap singular guards (shoot a Crush at groups) and shoot the snipers while
you head right. You should still finish with plenty of ammo.
It might be possible to ride the miniboss all the way right, as it take sonly a
shot to the hatch to open. It moves very erratically, however, and so you may
not be able to grapple to the highest rail without getting slammed.
*Low Ammo 3:
----------
Challenge Number: 38
Level: Harvest Yard
Ammo: 15
Not as intimidating as it looks, my friend. You can use shots, or you can try
it without. Either way, you should be victorious.
grapple from the start, no question, you have to take the top route unless you
want to deal with eggs and the lot. To avoid the purple vipers, slide down the
ropes until they pass. But for the most part, just climb and jump, climb and
jump. The only shot (if any) you should take at this point is to kill a yellow
viper before jumping to the platform at the far end of the rope section.
When it comes to climbing, we're also going to cut some corners. If you start
your climb just as the eggs are hatching, and I mean jumping from the rope to
the skull platforms then you should be able to dodge some of the hatchlings and
make it 3/4 the way up before they hatch again. You don't have to shoot a
single shot here, but please do so if one gets too close.
Make a full bore run to the left now, be careful of the vipers jumping from up
high, you might want to use a shot on these. The falcon vipers should not get
much of a chance yet to antagonize you, but if one catches up, by all means
kill the mother.
Jump and grapple up at the end of the run and get out of the way of the leaping
vipers that are bound to be chasing you by now. As you make your way left, make
sure to kill any falcon vipers that fly down near you. Jump over any vipers
running in from the left when you land and begin another climb.
Kill any hatchlings in the way and your climb will be cut short. Victory.
---Mutt Hunt---
*Mutt Hunt 1:
-----------
Challenge Number: 3
Level: Jungle
Hunt 1 Mutt 1:
Run forward and grab the machine gun from the blimp. Jump on up to the first
hill and take out the Dirk on the next. Kill any stock soldiers in your way
and then run along the middle part of the path until the mutt runs forward.
Aim down and frag that mother.
Hunt 1 Mutt 2:
Take the path below the bridge and run on throught he water. Grab the spread
gun. We want plenty of range in case we lose a mutt. Run forward to make the
mutt run, aim up and kill him.
Hunt 1 Mutt 3:
After killing Mutt 2, run forward and kill the Dirk way up high. Get up to his
posiiton and aim down. Destroy the turret in the ground before you proceed.
Now, jump onto the grapple rail, aim down, and shoot the mutt.
Hunt 1, Mutt 4:
The next Mutt is found after grappling up after the next bridge. Shoot the
Dirk laying on the ground before running forward. When the mutt charges, jump
up and shoot down to slay it.
Hunt 1, Mutt 5:
When the path splits, take the path in the water. Run beneath the mutt near
the turret turret and aim up. Fire at him and move on. Make sure to destroy any
turrets along the way.
Hunt 1, Mutt 6:
Continue along the bottom path, destroying turrets all along. This one is after
the second Spread Shot. Grab it, provoke the mutt to move, and take it out.
Hunt 1, Mutt 7:
Start running up the hill, aiming your spread shot up (hopefully upgraded) to
strike the high-up enemy. The mutt will soon run after you. Jump back and aim
down and kill it as you go.
Hunt 1, Mutt 8:
This mutt is at the top of the hill. Take care of it as usual, but beware of
the Dirk laying down just ahead of you. Make sure to take him out first - if
you can- and then make your way forward until you see Victory appear on the
screen.
*Mutt Hunt 2:
-----------
Challenge Number: 13
Level: Laboratory
I'm going to presume you know to take this one slowly, making sure the aliens
crawling in the walls and pipes don't kill you and that you take the time to
dispatch the meat puppets.
Hunt 2, Mutt 1:
Move right just a bit from the start and it will start moving. Fire up into
the pipe to kill it.
Hunt 2, Mutt 2:
Right next to Mutt 1 but he only activates after you scroll the blimp onscreen.
Crush cannot hurt him, sos tick to rapid. There's an alien in the wall right
near to him so be careful of that and dispatch it before you go after the mutt.
Hunt 2, Mutt 3:
Continue right using Crush to kill the meat puppets as quickly as possible. The
mutt is active after maybe the fourth puppet is passed, but there will be
another off to the right. Kill this before you take out the dog.
Hunt 2, Mutt 4:
Grab the laser and use it for anti-Mutts. Keep the Crush on hand for the meat
puppets. Continue right until this Mutt starts moving and be careful of the
aliens in the walls, rather than pipe. When the coast is clear, blast him.
Hunt 2, Mutt 5:
Scroll just a tad further to the right. He'll start running. Take care not to
scroll the entry point for your laser offscreen.
Hunt 2, Mutt 6:
It's just a bit more through the stage to find this mother. Make sure you
Crush the Meat Puppets first.
Hunt 2, Mutt 7:
This guy is way up high. You could grapple up next to him but it's just as
safe to fire from above (due to aliens). You need to head out over the pit to
activate him, then get back and aim up. Remember - some aliens may come back
onscreen if they go offscreen to the left. Make __sure__ the coast is clear!
Hunt 2, Mutt 8:
Right near the end of the lab portion of the stage, there'll be a mutt. You
need to go over the pit to activate him, so don't scroll him offscreen. Keep
going right and if you've killed all 8 then VICTORY for you.
*Mutt Hunt 3:
-----------
Challenge Number: 20
Level: City
Hunt 3, Mutt 1:
So we're back in the mutt's home town. Let's get started. Get the flame gun
from the blimp and head right. Destroy the turret soldier and then continue
right. Jump and fire down when the mutt starts running.
Hunt 3, Mutt 2:
Destroy the blue robot on the roof and run right. Shoot a flame shot straight
up and it should connect with the mutt as you continue to the right. Jump and
grapple up at the far left end of the grapple railing and jump left to the roof
top. Destroy the blue robot from here.
Hunt 3, Mutt 3:
Stop on top of the building and shoot the blimp which holds the spread shot.
Jump down and get the spread, and head right. Jump and fire down when the mutt
starts to run right. Grapple back up and head right as normal.
Hunt 3, Mutt 4:
After the second turret Dirk, you will see the mut. Scroll right until he
activates and shoot him. Be careful though, as you may scroll the blue robo
sniper onscreen by accident. If you do, take care fo the mutt and then retreat.
If you don't, scroll him on after the mutt is dispatched and retreat. Destroy
him from afar with the spread shot.
Hunt 3, Mutt 5:
Aim down from here and take out the enemies near the mutt. Jump roght onto the
rail, aim down, and shoot to take the next mutt out.
Hunt 3, Mutt 6:
Scroll right until you can see the hand of the black sniper in the lower right.
Stick to the left side of the screen, jump over his shots and take him out.
Scroll right untilt he mutt moves, aim down and destroy him. Switch your
weapon and get the homing shot fromt he blimp a little more to the right.
Hunt 3, Mutt 7:
Drop to the bottom and run to the right killing meat puppets. Jump and kill the
mutt when it activates.
Hunt 3, Mutt 8:
Now you can use the homing for this or not. Use homing on all threats at the
top of the screen, then use it once you activate the mutt to cream him. Or, you
could use the spread shot a bit more freely.
*Mutt Hunt 4:
-----------
Challenge Number: 28
Level: Harbor
Hunt 4, Mutt 1:
Head right from the start. Take out the turret gunner then scroll the sniper
onscreen. Fire up from beneath him to destroy him. Wait for the other sniper to
fire and then grapple up and kill him. Scroll the grenade tosser to the right
onscreen and kill him from the platform you just left. get over to the
grenadier's platform and grab the homing missiles. Kill the sniper, activate
the mutt and dispatch him.
Hunt 4, Mutt 2:
Keep to the top paths. This includes after the diagonal rail. Blast the turret
gunner and two snipers with homing missiles and grab the laser as your second
weapon. Switch to it. Jump down to the ramp and start to run up the hill.
Jump and laser it as it passes beneath you.
Hunt 4, Mutt 3:
Towards the top of the hill there's another mutt. Don't forget about the turret
gunner up here - duck and kill him as soon as you can. Take the Crush and
replace the laser. This is useful for taking out proboterrors later.
--Destroy the sub using the Homing Gun--
Hunt 4, Mutt 4:
Take the lower path and make sure to DESTROY the proboterrors that you
encounter. This mutt is on the upper path. Use C on the Proboterrors but once
you get a bit far switch to H to get the mutt.
Hunt 4, Mutt 5:
Run to the right after fragging that previous Mutt. Keep C (Or L) on and jump
and blast it passes below. Grab the B from the blimp for a barrier.
Hunt 4, Mutt 6:
Now it's time to really shred. We have a barrier so run forward. Switch to H
and get this guy as he passes beneath you.
Hunt 4, Mutt 7:
He's just above Mutt 6. Keep your Homing blitz up and he'll be gone.
Hunt 4, Mutt 8:
Right before the end. Just make sure you don't scroll too far right or it
will count as a defeat before you kill this dude!
*Mutt Hunt 5:
-----------
Challenge Number: 31
Level: Harvest Yard
This one's long but diable. When you are running left, the mutts will toward
you once in range - since you are to their right you don't actually have to
pass them by - but only heading left.
Hunt 5, Mutt 1:
Take the top route, grabbing the machine gun from the get go. Use the ropes to
move across the ceiling. There's a mouth next to the first mutt. Stay still on
the long rope above it and fire until it's gone. Jump to the next rope and fire
forward to kill the purple viper. Make your way to the ledge in mid air, kill
any vipers running toward you, jump to the platform, aim down, kill the mutt.
Hunt 5, Mutt 2:
Kill the mouth on this platform or it is bound to screw this up. Inch right
until the spread shot blimp appears. GRab it, work your way forward and jump
and shoot the mutt once it activates.
Hunt 5, Mutt 3:
Jump down to the right, get the mutt and vipers chasing you, turn and fire the
spread shot to wipe em' out. Climb the section at the end like always - destroy
every egg.
Hunt 5, Mutt 4:
At the top, take the lower path. Run left firing the spread shot. The mutt will
get caught in it.
Hunt 5, Mutt 5:
After the jump, aim up to kill the mutt on that upper ledge. Now there's a
barrier up there and a spread shot on the lower path. The spread shot has a
lasting impression, so swallow that temptation and get that spread shot for a
beautiful new 5-way spread.
Hunt 5, Mutt 6:
After the climb, start the overhand section to the right. There aren't many
vipers on the platforms themselves here. Rmeember the platforms recede - always
jump for the middles. Kill every alien that comes onscreen and the mouth near
the end. Jump to the bottom at the end and run to the right. Near the rope, the
mutt activates. Jump and kill it.
Hunt 5, Mutt 7:
The climb, as usual, is handled by destroying every egg. At the top, inch
closer and closer to the moving wall. You'll hear a mutt activate. Aim down and
left to kill this sucker.
Hunt 5, Mutt 8:
After the moving wall section, come out firing and this fool will activate
right into your spread stream.
---Pacifism----
*Pacifism 1:
----------
Challenge Number: 2
Level: Ocean
This one can be difficult, but the trick is to provoke the bouncing fishies to
shoot at one position and move back to another. Stay just outside of the centre
of the screen, the filet o' deaths will not bounce up before this point, so
keep that in mind.
Staying at this point means that the fish that jump up will fire shots at your
middle of the screen position. Pull back and jump if you must to avoid the shots
as they head towards you.
Now, there's one fish to watch out. He's this slippery bastard who strays across
the very top of the water. Now, if you see him, jump as he passes under so he
doesn't fire a shot up your tailpipe.
*Pacifism 2:
----------
Challenge Number: 4
Level: Harbor
This one has one trouble spot, but it's otherwise pretty simple.
From the start, run forward and use the rails until you get to the diagonal
grapple rail. Just don't stop moving and you won't be hit. Grapple up to it and
then jump right to the platform.
This is the trouble spot. Let the dirks fire, then dodge the shot. Run up close
to him and jump over him and to the right. If you touch him, you will of course
fail. If you clear him, then you're good to go. Start heading back right.
Just run and don't stop running until you reach the far right.
*Pacifism 3:
----------
Challenge Number: 11
Level: Laboratory (Waterfall)
This one takes place at the waterfall of level 2. This one is just a long climb
up avoiding rocks and enemies except for a few trouble spots.
The first such spot is the first turret. You cannot destroy it and it will be a
major threat. This only compounded by the rock. Stand to the right of the turret
and jump over the shots. When the rock is gone, wait for the turret to shoot and
then leap left. Scroll that turret offscreen as fast as you can.
Above these rocks there's that horizontal plane with soldiers running back and
forth. Only jump when the dudes have thinned out right above you, you don't want
to bop your head off their toes. If they run offscreen they will run back on
screen IMMEDIATELY. Don't get fooled.
After this, stay central where the two small rocks are falling. Remember, this
is where the barrier used to be. It's not there now, of course, but we will
make due. When you reach a horizontal plane again, watch out that the soldiers
are again moved to the side before we jump on up.
When we see Mr. Scuba, pass him at the right. Climb up past him until he scrolls
offscreen and is no longer a threat. Keep going up.
When you reach the next Mr. Scuba, head up the rope and then keep to the right.
Stay on the ledge and let the soldiers jump over you to their death. When it's
clear
*Pacifism 4:
----------
Challenge Number: 37
Level: Jungle
This one's the most difficult right at the start, when random enemies can run
onscreen from three levels withotu any warning. Whatever, suck it up and let's
rock.
The first set of snipers should be dodged by jumping over both of their shots
to the top plateau and then over the top sniper before he fires again. At the
next split, take the water route, and duck into it if any threat dares come
near. You need to jump over the wall turret. Don't hesitate too long, but you
may need to wait for an incoming fodder soldier to line up with it and jump
both at once.
Just run under the next sniper, jump to the next plateau, and up to the railing
and run right.
Let the bridge explode and jump up next to the Dirk sniper. Jump his shot and
grapple up to the top. Leap the shot from the sniper to your right, then leap
pver him and run right to the bridge.
On the bridge, keep going and stay on the top path. When you reach the sniper
up here, drop down, avoiding the bullets, and get into the water. Lay down in
the water to avoid the enemy shots and continue right. Keep this up until you
leave this section.
Run up the bridge, avoiding the shots. Victory is right next to those snipers
on the stairs shaped hill, so run forward and claim it before they shoot you.
---Rematch---
*Rematch 1:
----------
Challenge Number: 8
Level: Jungle
This is a rematch against the stage 1 boss. You start with a weapon - spread
shot level 1. This should be sufficient for this fight. From the start of the
fight, shot the Dirk on top of the wall, then leap up to the plateau. Fire at
the mid cannons and then the core from your position.
For phase two, move to the left a bit and aim up and right at the Dirks on top
of the wall. Take out as many as possible this way, then move a little closer
to the middle of the plateau. Aim straight up and the spread gun should get
the rest of them.
You know the rest. Take out the mid-cannons and the two cores from your
position. You have the Spread Gun, there should be no need to move off of your
perch.
*Rematch 2:
----------
Challenge Number: 16
Level: Laboratory
this rematch can be tough because the boss is unpredictable and you have to
ride the elevator up to him and fight the flavour rodeo of troops that come out
of the base. You start with the spread shot, and this is what you should stay
with. Shoot the troops with the spread gun as you ride the elevator up.
Alright, the actual rodeo itself is easily handled witht he spread shot until
you get to the black snipers. Stand between where two would rise and fire up
to rack up a bit of damage on them. Run to the other side of the screen while
firing up on a diagonal.
Luckily, the spread shot does you well in hitting the main event's head. It
might be safest to shoot at him from the outside of his claws rather than in
between. This means the fight will be a bit longer but you may not get creamed
in the meantime.
Make sure to drop what you're doing when he goes for the tail attack, track
his position and head opposite him to avoid it. When he starts spewing fire,
move to the left and let him have it witht he spread shot only moving when a
fireball is going to hit you.
When he raises you, you can get a lot of hits in with rapid succession with
the spread shot. And remember - when he drops you you're going to have to
get between his claws and jump to avoid his initial attack.
The chase scene should be no problem at this point. Just aim up and blast the
hell out of him, dodging his energy balls until he drops.
*Rematch 3:
----------
Challenge Number: 24
Level: Harbor
The giant robot. Now, he's somewhat unpredictable and with one life it may be
a bit of a stressor to take him down. But really, all you have to worry about
is his diagonal punching.
Now, I mentioned in the main walkthrough that the best way to do this is to
follow him. And that holds true here. He pumps his fist before striking so if
we can see one, we can dodge it and if the other is offscreen chances are it
will miss if he does a diagonal punch.
So stay between his fists, closer to the one on the side he is moving, keep
firing up witht he spread shot to blop any missiles. When he punches, and try
to provoke him into punching straight down, pulse the button as fast as
possible.
When the arms are gone you'll just have to aim up and fire. the spread should
take care of the missiles, but always keep an eye out.
David Rickard has this to mention...
"...So when you blow one arm up, actually run over to his other arm so he
scoots over and punches down rather than punches diagonally."
I can't believe I neglected to mention that here, geez. Thanks for the wake up
call David, :).
*Rematch 4:
----------
Challenge Number: 32
Level: City
The Crustacean Cruiser from back in the City has returned. You have the spread
gun, which is fairly effective against this runaway bloke. However, this cannot
guarantee you the same degree of freedom that the homing shot can.
Either way, make sure you're on his back when he rises up. He's one mean mother
otherwise. Once you're up there, run back and forth aiming down with the spread
shot. You should be able to hit multiple orbs at once. Make sure you bust them
all, and keep in mind the robots will be firing at you the whole time through.
When the orbs are busted you will have to jump down to the side platform of his
carapace. If you lay down and face forward, then you can pound the hell out of
him with the spread shot. But don't forget about the robots. Red robots will
arrive tossing grenades, make sure to stop them asap - so shift your focus.
Remember, you can a better shot at the beast's face if you jump on a hovercycle.
You may have a bit more trouble dealing with the robots though. Either move
toward them firing or hold R to lock in. It's worth it to use the hovercycle
because it cuts this fight really short.
*Rematch 5:
----------
Challenge Number: 40
Level: Harvest Yard
Black Viper wants to play. This one may be a little intimidating to do in one
life but if you've trounced him in Arcade Mode you'll slaughter him here too.
The weapons at your disposal (upgradable) are:
-Crush (Dropped by the brain)
-Machine Gun (At the start and Dropped by the Brain)
-Laser (At the start and Dropped by the Brain)
I've received other weapons, like Homing, but these are the most common drops
in my experience. You start witht he spread shot and I usually keep it through
the entire fight.
You do have to start the challenge from the acid segment though. Remember that
the bones make a shunk sound before flying out and the acid is also almost at
your feet. land on their smooth sections and keep these timning clues in mind
and this section should be a non-issue.
Take Laser or Machine Gun based on whcih level 2 you prefer. Of course, we may
always change that but whatever. Stand on teh rising platform beneath where one
of the eyes will be posiitoned. Come out shooting and blow that eye up before
the battle even starts. When you aren't shooting the eyes, stay at the centre
of the room and get ready to avoid snake arms.
-If one snake goes across the ceiling, and the other the floor, track the
position of the floor snake and run from it all the way to the far edge. Turn,
lock your posiiton, and fire at its head.
-If both snakes go down the sides of the screen, grapple the head in the upper
centre of the screen. Aim down at the snakes (or over at an eye) and fire like
crazy.
-If both snakes go down the centre, lay down. They should split and move to the
side, missing you. Fire at the head you're facing.
Once a snake is destroyed, grapple the hook that emerges from the opening it
came from. Face the head and repeatedly shoot it in the head. If you wait too
long the snake will regrow, or the head will only stick around for a minimum of
shots.
Once it leaves the screen, a brain will flaot onscreen. Stick to the bottom
right corner and switch to spread gun.
-If it launches purple flames, just aim and fire at that mother until it is
destroyed.
-If it launches small brains in four directions, it will move toward you. Lay
down and it will not be able to hit you. When it moves away, keep firing until
it is destroyed.
-If it flies on from the left of the screen, fire your spread gun at the
bounding minibrains. Lay down to avoid the rightmost brain, but when it jumps
back up, move back intot he room and shoot those mothers up.
If you manage to destroy the brain, it drops an item.
Repeat this process of destroying a snake, shooting the brain in the head and
dealing with the independent brains. Eventually, it will drop.
---Speed Run---
*Speed Run 1:
-----------
Challenge Number: 9
Level: City
Time Limit: 88
Goal: 65 Enemies
This one's not so bad. Stand in one place and hold R, fire at the grabbers
when they swoop down. If one grabs you, fire straight up to knock that sucker
off. If you fall, press X to grapple immediately.
You only have Rapid as a weapon and these guys take multiple hits each. It is
best to tap the button to geta better rate of fire out of it. Even if they
are heading offscreen, it is still possible to kill one and with the more
rapid method of fire you'll be killing a lot more.
*Speed Run 2:
-----------
Challenge Number: 12
Level: City
Time Limit: 33
Goal: End of the course
Not much time? Well, I agree, but it's not so bad because the enemies here are
not really to the extreme.
Fromt he start run straight forward, firing your gun. This should take care of
any Dirks in front of you. When passing by the buildings you may want to aim up
at a diagonal so as to grab the spread shot. At the end of the line, grapple up
and take out the dirk below and to the right with a spread shot.
Move to the right without stop over the grapple rail, drop down past the black
Dirk sniper at the end and run across the ground again. Blast the meat puppets
with the spread shot, and even stop for a second if you get too close and they
still haven't fallen. It's just past this building that you will find the goal
and you should have a few seconds to spare.
Alternatively, you could have grappled up as soon as you received the spread
shot and run forward firing across the rooftops. This would save the time it
takes to aim at that Dirk which was below and to the right at any rate or even
give you the direction that you skip past him altogether, jumping to avoid his
shots
*Speed Run 3:
-----------
Challenge Number: 19
Level: Harvest Yard
Time Limit: 55
Goal: End of the course
This one will really have you strapped for time. Jump and climb the rope right
from the start and get up to its top. Head left and jump onto the skull
platform and immediately right. Run right holding upa nd right firing shots so
a few eggs will be hit. Destroy the two eggs at the far right, kill the
hatchlings and make your way to the top and head left.
This slamming ceiling will also make time a premium. When it lifts, run until
you reach the egg. Aim up diagonally to shoot the hatchling, then destroy the
egg before the ceilings lifts back up. Run to the left.
You will be stopped by a wall, keep running against it for as long as it's
there so you can automatically progress into the next chamber when it moves
again.
When it moves jump left and run to the next chamber. Lay down so as not to
die when the ceiling slams down.
Give the next chamber a miss and stop under the larger one after that. Run
left against the wall and give it a jump when it starts to rise. It's just a
quick climb until you see victory after this.
For best results, finish the initial climb at about 40 seconds and start the
second near 11-12 if possible.
*Speed Run 4:
-----------
Challenge Number: 23
Level: City
Time Limit: 58
Goal: 60 enemies
Stay toward the middle of the screen and hold R to lock in place. Aim and fire
constantly at the winged vipers as they arrive. the faster you kill them, the
more that arrive.
You only have to move if a viper is going to fly down right on top of you. Move
to the side and shoot it dead before you resume the aim and kill motif. That's
all there is to it, just be sure not to risk one stomping your head.
*Speed Run 5:
-----------
Challenge Number: 36
Level: Laboratory (Waterfall)
Time Limit: 30
Goal: Reach the top
This one is kind of tricky but it requires jumping from ledges. Once you start
doing this, it drastically improves your performance.
Run and jump right and latch onto the righthand wall. Climb up until the moving
platform above you is moving left, if you're high enough and jump left you
should land on it. Jump to the left wall and jump right.
Jump to the platform to the right then up to the left (the top in a stack of
two ledges). Jump right to the vertically moving platform and stay at the far
right to avoid the rock. Jump up to the platform above you, up again, then
right. Wait for the moving platform, ride it to the left and jump up, firing at
the soldiers.
Climb up and you'll be at the point below where you sued to be able to get the
barrier. So, get to the moving platform, climb the central rope. Jump to the
righthand wall, climb all the way up and get to the moving platform. It should
be a simple matte rof getting to the next long horizontal section for your
victory.
*Speed Run 6:
-----------
Challenge Number: 39
Level: Harbor
Time Limit: 15
Goal: Reach the top
Yikes. Start jumping to the right fromt he start then jump up and left to the
platform which leads to the first ladder. However, land right at the extreme
edge of this platform and jump up and right to the ladder to your right.
You have to be almost falling off this platform, you may want to get used to
doing this before making an actual attempt at the challenge.
Aside from this first jump, this is a matter of climbing the rigging. Don't
climb ladders fully, climb a bit then jump to the next section as soon as
possible. When you see the grapple bar at the high point of the scaffolding,
grapple up and you should get your victory just before time runs out.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| CF6: Bosses |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Bosses and minibosses, in condensed form. Just add water to these strategies.
----Stage 1----
*Miniboss:
This rail riding canon will charge back and forth at the top screen,
periodically shooting a fireball. What you must do is kill an soldier around
you and aim up at this vehicle. Pump it full of shots until it stops, then
dodge the fireball.
When it is destroyed, the hatch opens and you can enter it. If you want to
enter it, never let it get past the second grapple rail way up high. If you
shoot the hatch then it will open, but to get in position to do that you will
have to get up to that rail - and that may cost you a life.
*Boss:
Jump to the plateau from the get go and aim up at the Dirk McShooter. Shoot him
and then turn your attention to the guns - lay down and fire at them. There
should only be the core remamining. Aim down diagonally at it and pump it full
of shots until it is destroyed.
When phase 2 begins to activate get to the left side of the plateau and aim up
and diagonally - kill some of the four Dirks up here. Wait for the upper core
to fire, then grapple up and kill the rest of the Dirks. Drop down to the
plateau again and kill the cannons. Now, fire down diagonally at the lower
core, and up at the upper core. If you can't hit it - grapple the helicopter
and jump down when it is about to laser.
Homing makes this battle extremely easy as well, so long as you aim the
missiles so as to direct initial trajectory.
-Here's Sean Rhodes submission, which requires a level 2 spread gun.
"When you've got the Spread Gun, just stand on the far left. Begin the battle
by holding R and diagonally. Then simply stand on the far left and shoot at
the wall. Duck when necessary.
When the wall rises, first hold R and shoot diagonally. Your shots should hit
all the men up top but one of them. If you feel you must take him out, do so,
but unless you move from the far left of the screen he can't actually hit you.
If you MUST hit him , just move forward slightly and fire diagonally. Now take
out the bottom half the same way you did before. Ducking when necessary. Only
the red heart at the top should be left. You can shoot diagonally from the far
left and at least one shot should hit. If not, just stand in the middle of the
bottom screen and shoot up until it dies."
-Here's David Rickard's, which uses the level 2 Machine Gun.
"For the level 1 boss, you can beat this very quickly and with no danger to
yourself if you have the level 2 machine gun. Simply fire at the red core at
the start, and it will die in seconds. Then as the eye underneath opens up and
begins to rise, use the platform to keep the machine gun firing at it. It
should blow up before it goes out of reach. Then you can waste the bottom core
before anything can get a shot off at you."
-Here is _efire's, which again requires a level 2 weapon.
"This strategy makes the first boss into a complete joke. First, you need a
Level 2 weapon, preferrably M2 or C2. S2 works as well, but requires a bit
more skill. Anyways, as you run into the screen where the tower boss is
located, begin firing straight ahead like mad. Don't even bother to dodge the
sniper's bullet; if you did it right, the first core is quickly destroyed.
Keep firing. As the second core appears, continue firing like mad, jumping up
each platform as the core rises. If you need to, hold the R button and aim
diagonally up to finish off the top core. This core should die before it
reaches the top screen. Finally, jump down to the far left corner of the
screen and pummel the bottom core. It should blow up before the sniper shots
reach you from the top. Easy stuff."
----Stage 2----
*Boss:
Just a boss in this one, but there's an enemy rush before it. When the platform
raises to the top, stand next to the door and fire like crazy at the dudes
leaping out. Eventually, some Snipers will appear, run and shoot the two on one
side, dodge the shots of the other then run back shooting them.
Grenadiers will appear next. Fire up at one, dodge the grenades, then fire up
at the other. Rinse and repeat. Lastly, black snipers. Fire up at one as they
rise then run across the screen firing up at an angle to damage the rest and
avoid the shots. Run back tot he other side again avoiding shots and one of the
guys should be killed, or better yet two of them. When two on one side are dead
concentrate on the next closest sniper and the boss will finish him off.
Now the boss itself can be fast but it is predictable. It alternates between
blades, slamming one down and then the other. Dodge the blade and jump over the
purple shockwave. You may want to avoid the blade closest to you and fire up
at his head when he uses the one farthest.
When he ducks to a corner, run to the opposite side and jump to avoid the tail
attack.
He'll begin to launch energy balls from his mouth. Rapidly fire up at his head
because this sequence is one of the best damage dealing opportunities for the
fight. When the ball hits the ground next to you, run to the other side to
dodge it and continue to fire.
When he pulls the platform up, stay really close to his arm and fire like crazy
at his face. When he drops it he will begin slamming the ground again, if he
gets you into a corner, he will be slamming down with the claw opposite of the
corner and so be ready to avoid this.
When he explodes, he'll begin to chase you down the waterfall. Fire like crazy
at him, dodge the shots as normal, and he should be cake.
~You may need to try to jump between two midair energy balls on hard mode to
avoid a death.
-Here's _efire's strategy, which requires an upgraded Machinegun or Crush and
involves leveling this boss before it begins to spew energy.
"Just have either M2 or C2, and continually fire straight up at the alien head,
moving only slightly to dodge the claws. After you start falling, just stand
in the center and fire straight up. Don't even move here; you should kill him
before any of the purple balls can reach you."
Folks, this could be key on hard mode to reduce the headache ;).
----Stage 3----
*Boss:
There are barrels that roll across the ground here too, but they can reach each
side of the room so be prepared to jump. There are also soldiers in this room,
so shoot them when they appear.
The boss itself doesn't take much of a beating. It's, again, from Contra but
it's fought in the third person perspective this time. Jump and fire when it is
fully formed to damage it. It will also launch shots to either side of the room
which can be destroyed. If you don't destroy them, they move across the floor
so jump over them.
If you were able to hold onto a homing gun, it makes short, short work of this
boss. It really is this simple though, so just avoid the other hazard and jump
and fire at this sucker until he's downed completely.
----Stage 4----
*Miniboss 1:
The sub from Operation C. Run to the right from the start, and aim down.
Destroy the circular turrets and main turret which fires red orbs.
It will open up its four hatches and rake the arena with lasers. Run the
direction that they are moving and get to the extreme side of the stage to
avoid this. Fire at the hatches when they open but before the laser starts to
come after you.
The lefthand side holds a rapidfire turret. Dodge the shots, move left firing
down on an angle and fire directly down on this turret while watching the shots
as they arrive from the lower screen.
There's rails right above the sub but I wouldn't suggest them unless you needed
the closer range for level 1 crush missiles. Jump and grapple up to the top
screen rail when the lasers start if you're doing this. You still have to move
to the side.
*Miniboss 2:
The Missile Hugger 4000 just takes a bit of predictive work. From where the
battle starts, move up and fire downa t him. As soon as he starts climbing,
move down a good distance and fire up. Once he's swiped his claw up above
however, start climbing as he will very quickly drop down to your level to make
you miserable. You have a bit more time for firing when he's climbing but don't
push it.
When he fires missiles, shoot them as they arrive, but take the opportunity as
well to get a lot of shots in on him.
He's really not so bad once you get a pattern.
Here's what Andrew Kurland had to say:
"The Missile Hugger 3000 midboss on stage 4 is a pain in the ass, indeed, until
you get used to its pattern. I like to use that horizontal railing above me to
my advantage during this fight- the moment I know he's coming (as the screen
scrolls left), I immediately use the grappling hook (or climb and use the jump
my character automatically performs at the top of the vertical pipe) to get up
there and shoot at him. Once he starts climbing up to the height he needs to
punch me, I immediately drop down to the vertical pipe and slide down to avoid
the punch. I don't slide down much, and I keep firing at the boss all the
while once I know I'm out of the punch's way. I often get about three or four
bursts in on the midboss this way. Once I'm close to the bottom of the rail,
I slide down, wait for him to retract his hand from a punch, and jump- using
the grappling hook to repeat the process from the beginning- firing down and
to the left to ensure I shoot the missiles he fires once I do so.
Again, I did not test this on Hard."
*Boss:
This boss is all very basic though he is unpredictable. He launches misisles
and throws punches. He pumps his fist before punching and will either punch
diagonally from the arm farthest from you or straight down from the one
nearest.
I find he punches diagonally most from an offscreen position, if you stay in
the centre and periodically run under his arm closest to the edge he should
punch down. Fire at his hand and arm untilt hey blow off.
While my method isn't 100%, I've found it manipulates him more often than not.
Walking the same direction he is usually prevents him from delivering a
diagonal punch... but not always.
Throughout the whole fight he antagonizes you with missiles. It's best to just
jump or run out of the way unless you have the spread gun.
Once both arms are destroyed, fire at his head until he is destroyed.
David Rickard has this to mention...
"...So when you blow one arm up, actually run over to his other arm so he
scoots over and punches down rather than punches diagonally."
I can't believe I neglected to mention that here, geez. Thanks for the wake up
call David, :).
----Stage 5----
*Boss:
The Giant Fish fights from the lower screen. Watch what side he appears on - he
starts on the right and alternates each time. He rakes the screen with a laser
which -will- kill you unless you're right above him. His weak spot is his eyes
so either fire down with Homing or Spread, or diagonally down as he leaves and
straight down before the laser reaches you with anything else.
Spread is really good here because it also kills the Filet O' Deaths before
they geta chance to antagonize you. Kill them before they geta chance to fire
when they do jump up, and leap out of the way of the boss' spike back
projectiles.
Just keep alternating sides and slamming his eye and he will drop.
----Stage 6----
*Boss:
Robo-Corpse! But don't fret, he's nothing to be feared. Stay in the middle of
the screen. He launches streams of flamefrom side to side and you're going to
have to avoid them. He usually goes in this pattern: two low and one high. Jump
over the low streams and duck under the high streams. Make sure you note the
difference in them. He's never mixed it up for me but that doesn't mean it's
not a possible deal, dig?
So bop him in the face with your shots when you leap over the flames and before
you duck under the high flames. He should drop pretty quickly.
But that's not all there is to the Robo-Corpse. He'll chase you through the
wallway tot he previous room and open the doors here. Use a rapid weapon (drop
one and go to your normal, Rapid gun if need be) and blast one of the door
cores as fast as you possibly can. If you do it, Robo-Corpse will be
decapitated. If you don't, he'll opent he doors and you need to try it again
after dodging his streams. Again, these seem to be two low, one high.
----Stage 7----
*Miniboss 1:
There's a black sniper before this tank. Make sure you kill him (tall building,
second one after the Homing power up blimp) before getting the tank onscreen.
Fire straight ahead at the tank. It will launch either a rolling bomb or a
fireball straight forward. Jump over both and come out shooting. If you're
experienced, you may want to duck the fireball, but if you're having trouble
responding differently to the different shots,s tick to jumping.
When the tank drives forward, lay down. If you have a weapon capable of hitting
it in this position, let her rip and you can score some heavy damage before it
starts firing at you again.
*Miniboss 2:
This giant, spider-like robot will attack you between the two buildings. It
will initially use regular shots and fireballs. The fireballs become waves of
fire which move down the climbable walls.
Dodge left and right to avoid the shots and fire up at the spider's head. When
it turns its head to the side, it's going to rake below itself with lasers.
Wait for the fire to move past and jump to the wall opposite of where the
lasers start and move up, laser nipping at your heels. When the laser stops,
slide down, jump back to the platform, and continue to shoot up while dodging
shots.
*Boss:
The Crustacean Cruiser is a huge boss but only a slight threat directly. Make
sure you stay on its shell as it arises from the ground, or else you will get
tramples as he starts his running rampage.
Down below, there will be Blue robots on hovercycles. When they point their
guns up, they are about to fire. Sidestep the shots and continue your work.
Fire down at the fleshy sections on the side of the boss until they explode.
Destroy all four and drop down tot he ledge at the base of its carapace.
Now, if you have a weapon that can hit the ehad from here, let it rip.
Otherwise, destroy a biker bot and jump to the hovercycle. Get really close to
its face to rack up the hits.
Red robot bikers will appear now, and they lob grenades. You would be advised
to break off from the boss and destroy them asap.
If you have Homing, you never had to go down here. Lay down at the section of
carapace directly above the rightmost flesh section and face left. Fire the
homing missiles and they should periodically hit the boss' head - normally this
is because they lost their target of biker robot.
That method takes a long time, and really getting on the bike is not that much
of a hazard...
----Stage 8----
*Boss:
This giant heart will not attack you directly, instead eyeball turrets will
rise to shoot you. Just run back and forth shooting at the heart. The screams
may drown out the noise the eyeballs make but they flash before they shoot so
watch for that and jump. This is reallya ll there is to it, fire and dodge,
fire and dodge. It'll go down soon enough.
----Stage 9----
*Miniboss:
Alright. Move to the right until he escapes his pod, then grapple up and to the
left of it. He mostly tries to claw and crush you and as such the real strategy
here is to avoid him completely.
Once you're on the ceiling, just fire at him like crazy. When he moves to one
side of the room, you move tot he other. When he jumps to the ceiling, you fall
to the floor. When he falls to the floor, you grapple on up.
When he moves back and forth, try your best to keep this up and stay one step
ahead of him. You should still get out of the way in time if you respond to its
every move.
Watch the scene regarding this boss when he dies, and get ready for a good time
in the Harvest Yard.
*Final Boss:
When the rib starts to take you up to the boss, you will see a blimp with laser
and machine gun here. Laser, Machine Gun, and Crush are all upgradeable during
the final fight. You CAN get others, but I've seen these more often than not.
Spread gun works really well too, I usually keep one of those and either
Machine Gun 2 or Crush 2 for this boss.
When you arrive at the boss, start firing at its eyes. Fire at one as you are
arriving at the battlefield, then start on the other.
The boss will initally assault you with its snake arms. Now, unless you have
something like Crush, you will want to avoid these arms before firing at their
heads - and you CAN temporarily destroy these things.
-If one snake goes across the ceiling, and the other the floor, track the
position of the floor snake and run from it all the way to the far edge. Turn,
lock your posiiton, and fire at its head.
-If both snakes go down the sides of the screen, grapple the head in the upper
centre of the screen. Aim down at the snakes (or over at an eye) and fire like
crazy.
-If both snakes go down the centre, lay down. They should split and move to the
side, missing you. Fire at the head you're facing.
Once a snake is destroyed, grapple the hook that emerges from the opening it
came from. Face the head and repeatedly shoot it in the head. If you wait too
long the snake will regrow, or the head will only stick around for a minimum of
shots.
Once it leaves the screen, a brain will flaot onscreen. Stick to the bottom
right corner and switch to spread gun.
-If it launches purple flames, just aim and fire at that mother until it is
destroyed.
-If it launches small brains in four directions, it will move toward you. Lay
down and it will not be able to hit you. When it moves away, keep firing until
it is destroyed.
-If it flies on from the left of the screen, fire your spread gun at the
bounding minibrains. Lay down to avoid the rightmost brain, but when it jumps
back up, move back intot he room and shoot those mothers up.
If you manage to destroy the brain, it drops an item.
Repeat this process of destroying a snake, shooting the brain in the head and
dealing with the independent brains. Eventually, it will drop.
^There's boss info up there^ So if you're looking at enemies and don't want any
spoiler sof this nature, scroll the document down a little more.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| CF7: Enemies |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Enemies make games for me. Enemies and bosses. Contra always has a colourful
cast of beasties and Contra 4 is no exception.
Some of the names here that are specific because I extracted those names from
official materials - the manual and the game. Other than them, a lot of these
are approximations and estimates. But we need to pay them heed as well, yes?
There's mild spoilers in here.
-----Humanesque Humanoids-----
Humanoid enemies mostly attack with weapons rather than built in offensive
capabilities. They are very common towards the start of the game but start to
wane as you progress.
**3rd Person Base Soldier:
Attacks in the first 3rd person base, runs onscreen and starts to fire. Run to
the side or jump to avoid the shots. Kill them for items in the Eagle rooms and
try to take them out as they arrive.
**Dirk McShooter: Black Sniper:
This vaersion of the sniper is often difficult to see on backdrops and takes
quite the beating. It's best to remember their positions and destroy them
before things get too thick.
They seem to fire more often than the reds as well. Don't face them against a
backdrop of other enemies if possible or they may very well get the better of
you.
**Dirk McShooter: Ground:
This guy lays on the ground firing a shot. The shot's direction is unchanging
and comes with regularity. If you can't get a good position to aim at this
sucker then you will have to lay down to shoot him (unless your weapon is wide
enough, like a double machine gun).
Fire three shots, dodge his shot by jumping, then start firing again until he
drops and you can pass without incident.
**Dirk McShooter: Red Sniper:
This version of Dirk periodically shoots at you from a fixed position - though
he can aim his gun in your direction. His red stands out for the most part, but
against some backdrops he can blend. Also, if they are on the opposite screen
they can be a surprise.
They take two hits of Rapid.
**Nicky Napalm (Grenadier): Blue:
Much rarer and stronger than the red grenadiers. Dodge their grenades and
return fire. They take a lot of hits to drop.
**Nicky Napalm (Grenadier): Red:
The grenades they toss make a distinctive sound so if you can hear it you know
they're around. They lob grenades at your given position and are often found
above you. Sidestep their grenades and return fire.
**Grunt/Fodder:
Simple soldier that runs forward after you. Just shoot them and continue. When
they reach a ledge, they will jump. This is their most dangerous as if they are
below you they can hit you with their head - death.
If you aren't shooting them because of a challenge and you're above them, then
jump when they do to avoid getting headbutted.
**Mr Scuba:
This guy hides in oceans and waterfalls and launches a grenade straught into
the air when you draw near. This splits into three before it falls. They are
dealt with by shooting them as they fire the grenades - emerging from the water
to do so.
If you want to pass one without firing, either keep your distance or let the
grendes fall __around__ you.
**Turret Gunner:
This guy has a shield with a gun on top, or so it seems. This doesn't make him
invincible to shots, however. Just lay down and none of his shots will ever hit
you. Return fire and he's outta there.
----Animalistic Predators----
The natural side of things, well as natural as you get in contra. These are all
animalistic aliens that antagonize you through their natural weapons.
**Alien Wasp, the Dreaded Pus-Suckers of SV-326:
These suckers grab you and try to carry you offscreen. If they do, then you
will die. If you get grabbed, then you should aim up and fire like crazy - you
may have to use your grapple line to avoid death when they drop you.
They take a number of hits, so usually you will want to just hightail it out
of there before they become too much of a pest.
**Bone Eel:
A large enemy in the Ocean, destroy each of their sections to destroy them.
They normally stick to the lower screen but when they jump out, try to stay on
side opposite of where they are travelling.
**Filet O' Death:
A fish casuing pain and suffering in the Ocean. Filet O' Death will leap out at
intervals and fire a shot. The Rapid gun will do nothing in this situation -
get something with speed or range.
For dealing with these guys, who can kill you by ramming or shooting, stay
towards the centre of the screen and move back when dodging. If you see a fish
near the top of the lower screen, move back while jumping over it as it is one
sneaky salmon.
**Man-Faced Mutt:
These dogs in the city won't be an issue in the Easy Mode, but attack in the
higher difficulties. Once you pass them running tot he right, or approach them
from the right they will activate and run after you. To kill it, jump or turn
and fire at it.
**Worm/Maggot:
A small critter who crawls along rails or other surfaces. They're grey so it
is a difficult enemy to see at times. Make sure you clear them out before
making that critical jump.
----Robots----
There are a lot of robots. They're a varied lot but all painful.
*Reaper: Black:
The captain of the watercraft that you deal with in the Ocean, this guy just
directs the flight robots around him. Switch to a powerful weapon and shoot the
hell out of him to make that section of the Ocean proceed.
*Reaper: Blue:
The base robot, he will emerge and run after you. Turn and give him a couple of
shots to break him down. Awful frail for someone so big, no?
They're big and have a skeletal look.
*Reaper: Blue: Base:
Just like the base soldiers, these third person foes run onscreen before
attacking. As always, just shoot them before they have a chance, and if they do
dodge by jumping or running tot he side.
*Reaper: Blue: Biker:
A blue robot on a hovercycle, aim down and destroy it. they will periodically
aim their gun up and fire a shot straight up. Because it's straight up it's
easy to avoid.
Their hovercycle stays around for a little while after the robot blows up. You
can jump onto it and ride it yourself.
*Reaper: Blue: Grenadier:
This robot will periodically fire a grenade out of its chest cavity. Jump the
grenade and then shoot it before it lobs another.
*Reaper: Blue: Flight:
They fly in the air shooting slow homing missiles. switch to a wide weapon or
one with splash damage. You can destroy the homing missiles, and this is often
a better option than jumping over them.
*Reaper: Blue: Sniper:
This robot take sthe place of Red Dirk McShooters in the City. He fires just a
bit faster but due to his considerable size he's a much easier target.
*Reaper: Red:
This robot is like the base blue, except it will often shoot at you. It's just
as fragile, however.
*Reaper: Red: Biker:
These are the grenadiers of bikers. They will swoosh behind you and lob a
grenade. They are a priority target. Either move back towards them firing your
weapon or lock your position and kill them as they pass.
*Proboterror:
Honestly, the most dangerous enemy in the game. Theys tart out as a robot which
can fire and also lay down and fire - watch out. They will break apart when hit
and reform as a dog - which is fast and can fire as well, or a tripod bot which
fires frequently.
They can reform multiple times before being destroyed. The way to deal with
them is to knock them down and run past them before they reform or hold your
position until they are destroyed.
For the dogs, you;re going to need a wide weapon or to lay down.
*Water Diving Robot:
In the ocean, these guys fire shots straight up out of the water. The best way
to deal with them is to anticipate their position, fire down, then dodge back
to avoid their shots. Repeat until the section ends.
-----The Environment------
There's a lot of active objects in the environment that can slay you. Even the
ground is out to get you it seems.
There's a few proprietary things I'm leaving out of here as they are part of
the environment but also a nice surprise. See about them in the walkthroughs.
**Eyeball Turret:
Rise from the ground in the Alien Hive. These turrets fire almost as soon as
they peek up formt he ground. You can see their shadows move across the ground,
track them, fire and dodge them.
Keep this up and they drop pretty soon.
**Grassy Knoll (Ground Turret):
Opens up fromt he ground. Only one direction of fire so it should be easily
dispatched. It's biggest threat is honestly being in the way. It can pop up and
you will get a boo boo on your knees. That costs a life, soldier, so mark their
positions.
**Ground Turret: Base
These rise fromt he ground - fire on them before they can shoot at you. If you
hear a beeping and see them flash, start to run and jump to avoid their shots.
They may go back intot he ground after a shot.
**Gaping Maw Kettle (Mouth in the Wall):
Spews a large amount of little floaty mouth projectiles. Aim at it and shoot
the teeth out of it before it can shoot at you if it's going to be in the way.
**Over the Shoulder Soldier Folder (Rock):
Falls down to crush you. They bounce on platforms, so wait for them to bounce
away before you move on. If they fall onto a moving platform, then
**Rolling Cylinders of Death
Rolling objects in the base, either jump when they near, move to the side out
of its way, or duck and fire until it explodes.
**Wall Core:
Eyeball or mechanical, destroy these to proceed to the next room in the bases.
**Wall Turret:
A rotating turret that fires periodically. Dodge and shoot, dodge and shoot.
**Wall Turret: Base:
Fires at your position with more regularity than the side-scrolling wall
cannons. They are your primary target in the bases.
-----Viper Aliens-----
What does your "Giger" counter read? Ho ho, I always wanted to use that one.
These are all Stage 8 and 9 enemies, so beware if you're a casual reader.
**Egg:
Launches little Scorpion Aliens out every now and then unless you destroy
them. The Scorpions are lobbed into the air in case you're ever faced with
killing one of these guys when it's jumping out.
**Falcon Viper:
These guys, both yellow and purple, fly down to your level and attempt to ram
you. They are kind of fragile, however, dropping faster than the Alien Wasps of
the City. Take the time to shoot them unless you;re doing a challenge.
It's best to avoid letting them gang up on you.
**Scorpion Hatchling Alien:
Little guys who look like streamlined scorpions. They leap from eggs and run
across the ground, leaping when they reach a ledge. You should circumvent
ever fighting these guys by destroying their eggs. But they are a low to the
ground enemy, so you'll have to lay downa nd fire or leap and fire down.
**Scorpion Hatchling Alien: Base
Runs across the floor trying to ram you. Either jump out of the way or lay
down and try to kill them. A third person base enemy, they serve as the Alien
Hive's "cylinders."
*Viper Alien: Base: Floor
Run onscreen, then charge towards you. Shoot them before they reach you.
*Viper alien: Base: Ceiling
Crawl along the ceiling and drop when they get to your position. Homing is
great here, but otherwise, you will have to give them a shot when they drop or
just jump over them when they land as they run off to the side.
*Viper Alien: Yellow:
Run across the ground, jumping at pits. These are essentially the stock troops
of the Harvest Yard. Take them down with a shot to the guts. Watch out for them
if they're up above.
*Viper Alien: Purple:
These guys crawl across the ceiling, dropping down to meet you. Dangerous, so
track their position and punish them before they ever get a chance.
----Everything Else----
Couple of dudes that needed someplace to go. Two of them are "humanoids" but
not exactly as close to humans as the last guys. Yes, I suppose meat puppets
are but they're tortured husks of hate and were morally upsetting to Dirk
McShooter.
**Ingrid Birdmen:
Red and Blue varieties exist. They jump down to lower levels and fire shots.
Fire at these winged menaces from below. Spread helps.
**Meat Puppet:
A monstrous, swollen and shambling zombie. He walks along until he stops and
starts to spaz. He explodes into an eightway spread of projectiles... If he
does, run away and try to dodge. Otherwise, kill it before it can explode.
**Sewer Crawler:
Jumps out of sewer pipes or from inside a wall. Stick to the ceiling if there
are a lot of them and kill them as they emerge. If you need to face them on the
ground, lay down and kill it if your weapon doesn't reach the ground or leap
over it and fire.
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| CF8: Extras and Secrets |
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**Museum:
There formt he start, the museum gives you an overview of canonical and non-
canonical Contra titles. Well, really the point of Contra is to blast things
aggressively and frequently, but it's interesting to see the development of
the series and such.
**Challenge Mode:
Beat the game on any difficulty to unlock Challenge Mode. Challenge Mode is
what you use to unlock the other bonus materials by completing set tasks
through many of the levels you played through in the game.
This -can- be unlocked via Easy, so if you weren't up for Normal or Hard then
you can at least get your kicks in via easy. Challenge mode will hone your
skills surprisingly efficiently as well, so it could eb a worthwhile venture
even for that.
**Classic Contra
**Contra: Unlocked by completing 4 Challenges.
The NES version of the original Contra, giving you a choice of ratios to play
the game in.
The Konami Code still exists, albeit in a different form. At the Title Screen
press Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Y, B and then select your
difficulty and press Start for 30 lives.
**Super C: Unlocked by completing 8 Challenges.
Again, you can pick the ratio just like Contra. And again, this is the NES
version. Nice, though, that they are the first extras unlocked.
Super C contains the following:
Press Right, Left, Down, Up, B, Y on the title screen and then select your
difficulty. Hit start and you will have 10 lives.
For the sound test, as the title is appearing onscreen, hold Ba nd Y and
press start. Pres it again (Y+B+Start) and you'll open the sound test. From
here, use Y and B to control the sound test and Start to exit.
**Extra Characters:
-Probotector: Unlocked by completing 12 Challenges.
Originally, European audiences were treated to Probotector which effectively
eliminated the human element of Contra - replacing the humans with bots. It is
nice to see it brought back here though, shows the group still remembers its
fans.
-Lucia: Unlocked by completing 20 Challenges.
Originally from Shattered Soldier, Lucia's pretty fly for a construct.
Definitely a nice addition, Lucia can bust heads with the best of them. This
bionoid is definitely my second most used in this game beyond Mad Dog. The
gals here seem to aim at an angle (when angled) that hits less steep than the
guys, those this may just be perception.
-Sheena: Unlocked by completing 28 Challenges.
I really like Sheena's face in the C4 artwork. Very nicely done. Originally
appearing in Hard Corps, she's again a welcome addition to an otherwise sausage
fest. She seems to have the same aiming peculiarities as Lucia, but they were
nice enough to give her a different voice - excellent.
-Jimbo and Sully: Unlocked by completing 36 Challenges.
The Contra 3 dudes via the North American release, Jumbo and Sully were created
to explain away the time difference in the old North American canon between
Contra and Contra 3. They have older styled sprites and their alternate colours
match up with Mad Dog and Scorpion. Awesome.
They also have one of the best voice clips ever. I'll let you hear it yourself.
**Comics:
Promotional comics displayed over both screens. Use the control pad to scroll
between panels.
-Contra 3: Unlocked by completing 24 Challenges.
This comic involves a scenerio with Bill and Lance. I'll say no more, the art's
pretty rad so enjoy.
-Contra 4: Unlocked by completing 32 Challenges.
Tongue in cheek comic regarding the outset of Contra 4 and some of the
scenerios therein. Introduces Mad Dog and Scorpion and there's a lot of great
lines, check it out.
**Interview:
Unlocked by completing 16 Challenges.
This is a textual interview with Nakazato regarding his time with Contra and
involvement with the series. It's interesting to hear his thoughts on the
series - there's definitely love for the fans and the series here.
He thinks the way a developer should - how can new technology make a character
do more? There's no need for stagnation. Keep it real.
**Sound Gallery:
Unlocked by completing 40 Challenges.
Allows you to listen to any of the sound effects of Contra 4 and the music
tracks. Totally rad, I've always loved sound tests. Usually the best part of
the song is drowned out by the guns so it's a nice thing to have.
**Bonus Museum:
This shows up in the Muesum after completing 40 Challenges. Mainly, it contains
artwork from the game such as the delicious character unlocked art and some
back history on some characters of the Contra series. There's some concept art
from this game - nice.
**Alternate Colours for Extra Characters:
Well Bill, Lance, Mad Dog, and Scorpion are all virtually (not totally) swaps
of each other so this option is not available for them, but the extra
characters have extra options.
Lucia, Probotector, and Sheena all have three alternate versions. On the
character select, double tap up, down, or X to change their colour.
Jimbo and Sully have one each (which match up with Mad Dog and Scorpion,
respectively where Jimbo and Sully are Bill and Lance) activated by double-
tapping up.
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| CF9: Credits |
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Thanks go out to Konami and everyone who has contributed to Contra. You guys
are keeping it real when few others are.
Thanks also to Wayforward. There's definitely a love of Contra here. I will
admit I was worried when details of Contra 4 were first released but it more
than blew me away. Many thanks.
Thanks to my younger brother for making me get killed via laughter. "Take em'
Down!" sounds nothing like a high-pitched "CHICKEN BONE!" dude...
Bill, Lance, Mad Dog, and Scorpion for saving the world without breaking nary
a sweat. We all owe you one guys.
--User submissions--
================
Sean Rhodes for a Boss 1 strategy.
David Rickard, for his boss input for level 1 and 4.
efire_ for his level 1 boss strategy, level 2 strategy, and having a keen
enough interest in Contra to ask me to toss a few quotes into guide :).
Andy Kurland for his Missile Hugger strategy, pointing out a few errors in my
guide, and pointing out about ducking in the bases. No idea how I forgot about
that, I am shamed. :). Also for telling me Knomai put up a few official enemy
names on their C4 site, many kudos dude!
Alex Cook, for his inventive way to reap free men in the harbour.
Jamie Pinkney, for pointing out a few clerical errors.
====================
Thanks of course go out to my hosts, as without them you would not be reading
this guide.
Websites with permission to use this Guide:
www.GameFAQS.com
www.neoseeker.com
faqs.IGN.com
www.1up.com
www.honestgamer.com
www.gamesradar.com
www.cheatplanet.com
http://www.cheathappens.com
Game by Konami/Wayforward